Ravens and crows
by SeventhSister
Summary: Since Batman's been driving around and doing the good deed, the Gotham prisons have been crammed to the limit. And so, when Raven finally gets sentenced for 5 years, the only available cell is in... you guessed it: Arkham.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, short note: I have NEVER read a single Batman comic book (laugh all you want to, I think it's wierd too.) to I've had to pluck the villains (I own none.) from a mix of the new movies and the old. Read on and you'll see what I mean:D **

Ravens and Crows.

,, Miss Scarrow?" Raven looked out between her char grey locks, two deep amber eyes glaring at the world.

,, What?" she hissed, hugging her bag tighter. She had decided she didn't like the guard; he was a real pain in the neck. To him, she was just another basket case.

,, There in ten minutes." he announced and placed a hand on his service gun, as if to prove she shouldn't try anything.

,, Well, cancel the order for the château Lafitte, then." she growled, baring her teeth in a hiss. She slumped back against the cold iron wall of the armed car she had been chained in, almost two hours ago. She was beginning to feel like a very lonely cow, on its way to the butchers. She was _pissed._

Gotham had always been a... tough city. Some people shot, some people died, some got their drugs on time; the fucking circle of lies. Or was it life? Raven always forgot. But lately, the overgrown bat with the hot car had decided that things needed a change. The indirect effect of his do-gooding was, that the Gotham prisons pretty quickly got crammed up. Gotham was a really tough city. And now, there was lack of bunks in the cells and too many murderers got jammed in the same cell. And so, when Raven finally had been presented to the judge, an obese man, fattened from his good life up on the top, there had been no more room. And, as a part of some new program the shit-for-brains mayor had invented in a rush of antidepressants, Raven hadn't been sent to a bigger jail out of town, oh no. She had been transferred from her comfy cell at the police station to Arkham, institute for the criminally insane.

,, But... I'm not insane." Raven argued, but nobody was listening.

,, How long do I have to be locked up in that shithole?" Raven asked the guard, grumpy but curious.

,, Till they find you another place to stay." he answered.

,, Shouldn't take more than... A year, year and a half maybe." Raven thudded the back of her head into the wall.

,, Tally-fucking-ho, then. I mean, year and a half with rapists and cutthroats. A dear diary moment every second, I figure. " the rest of the trip was spent in silence, Raven's sneakers tapping the tune of _Join The British Army _against the floor, whistling slightly along. Her bag was lying beside her and her cuffed hands were resting behind her head.

When the van pulled up in the grey courtyard, Raven grabbed the sports bag and got up, head bent so it didn't connect with the roof of the vehicle. The doors were opened and she looked out, eyes squinting from the pale sunlight. It looked directly depressing.

,, Sorry, this isn't my hotel." she tried, but she felt the guard's gun connect with her spine between her shoulder blades, and she stumbled out into the yard.

,, Hey...!" she yelled, spinning on her heel and looking knives at the guard. He just glared down at her, weighing his gun in one hand.

,, When I get out of here, I'll track you down and slit your knee joints with a spoon." she hissed lowly. The guard tried to look cool and unaffected, but Raven could see him turn pale. She grinned meanly and he grew slightly paler. Then the doors were closed and the van drove away out of the gates, Raven catching the last glimpses of freedom before they swung shut. Then a nail tapped her shoulder and she turned. A woman, a little shorter than Raven, stood and smiled at her, a little too stiffly. Her lips were huge and painted red, the same colour like her dyed hair, which was cut just above her ears and smelled of chemicals. She was wearing a white nurse's uniform with pastel pink, blue and yellow cats and elephants on it. She smelled like formaldehyde and nail polish. Raven hugged her bag closer.

,, Raven Scarecrow?" she asked, her voice sounded like that of a mouse.

,, Scarrow." Raven corrected. The woman lifted a red eyebrow, painted on with eyeliner and consulted her clipboard.

,, Oh, then office must have made a mistake." she took a ballpoint pen and crossed something out, most likely the word 'Scarecrow', and wrote Scarrow in its place.

,, You see," she chittered on as she led the way into one of the four buildings, all meeting each other at the corners to form a square.

,, we already have a Scarecrow, so it's an easy mistake. But, you must admit, it would be funny; Raven, like a bird, and Scarecrow, like something you use to scare birds away with." Raven rolled her eyes. She already hated the place.

,, I'm Rozetta." the red mouse-lady continued and led Raven up some stairs.

,, But you can call me Roze. Everyone around here does."

,, Everyone around here is a mental case." Raven said and straightened up as they walked past some cells, each of them with two prisoners in. They all looked blankly back at her, a thick translucent plastic door separating them from her. She shuddered, not knowing if their empty stares were from the drugs they were force-fed or they just all looked like that.

,, I'm not."

,, 'course you're not, pumpkin." the red mouse-lady Rozetta said, clearly letting it show she didn't believe Raven. They walked through a set of doors and into a small office, with pictures of kittens and flowers in neat little frames on the walls.

,, Here we are, first stop." Raven felt like she was five years old again and the nurse were leading her down the hall to the dentist.

,, Now, what's your sizes?" Rozetta asked and pointed to Raven's clothes, her sneakers, her slightly oversized jeans and her greasy, grey t-shirt.

,, Uhh... I don't really know..." Raven said.

,, Well, no sweat." Rozetta smiled, or maybe the plastic surgeries had condemned her to an eternal grimace like a smile.

,, I'm great at guessing sizes and all." she opened a metal closet and pulled out two sets of deep orange prisoner's uniforms, two sleeveless white tops, five sets of underwear of the most un-sexiest kind (Just a statement, Raven wasn't expecting to score.) five pair of white socks and one pair of white sneakers.

,, There, these should fit." she said and shoved the clothes into Raven's arms, causing her to drop her bag. She sat down on her knees and placed the uniforms on the bag, then lifted the whole thing back up.

,, Now, should I show you where you are going to live?" Rozetta asked.

_Like you'd let me walk around on my own. _Raven thought, but she followed without saying anything, hoping that Rozetta would take the hint and stop blabbering.

,, This isn't really such a bad place, once you get used to it." Rozetta blabbered as they walked past another row of cells, where the more "simple" of the maniacs were; murder, murder and bloody murder was all they cared about. Huge, bullnecked men with tattoos, and small, skinny types, balding and greying, all eyes on Raven as she walked by.

,, Wooohoo, guys! New tits!" someone yelled and a choir of not so very nice or polite shouts followed it from the other men. Raven tried to ignore it and walked faster, Rozetta walking in front of her, totally oblivious of the shouts. She pushed a button in the wall and the next set of doors opened; this hall was filled with women, their cells holding crying, wailing or silent creatures in two and two, starring at Raven with the same eyes as the other men; some insane and lustful, some blank and dead. Raven didn't like the thought of her, living with one of those shells, but luckily, Rozetta led on. But then...

,, Where _is _my cell?" Raven asked.

,, Oh, we found you a nice and empty one, don't you worry." Rozetta led Raven up some more stairs, through five halls and into a new corridor. Here, it was eerie and silent, and the cells each held a single prisoner. Not two to share one, that would have been too dangerous.

,, Oh, hi Joe." Rozetta said to a tall, blond keeper and stopped to chitchat, leaving Raven alone in the silent coolness of the hall. Her wrist hurt from the gnawing cuffs and she hoped they would be removed soon. She held her bag and uniforms tighter and leaned back against the wall, biting her tongue and thinking confused thoughts. Although, she wasn't leaning against a wall, but the clear plastic door of a cell.

Two hands slammed against the door and Raven dropped her belongings in shock. Someone, the owner of the cell and the hands, giggled insanely as she turned and faced the person who had scared her; a man, face twisted into nightmarish features from thick scars, running from the corners of his mouth up to his ears, giving one the impression he was always smiling at one. His hair had a strange, washed out green colour, like he had sprayed in green for a single night and hadn't bothered to wash his hair properly afterwards. He grinned at her.

,, What's happenin', hot stuff?" he asked, sounding like he was quoting something he had heard somewhere. Raven didn't answer, she just sat down and gathered her ugly wardrobe, folding it neatly and placing it on her bag.

,, Not a talker, eh, sugar lips?" he went on, Raven concentrating on her socks and chained wrists.

,, So, what did you do to get in?" he asked, voice conversational and friendly , even though Raven could feel it was a charade.

,, Murder? Arson? Shoplifting?" Raven got back up and glared at the mental case, her whiskey golden eyes glowing like embers.

,, Did ya' cheat on your boyfriend?" he asked and licked his dry lips. Raven just glared, arms dangling down her sides and chained together in front of her.

,, I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm sure he was sleeping with Jennie and Tony had been sending you all those long glances lately and you probably felt so unloved, after that whole deal about your cousin and her kidney, I won't judge you." he held up his hands in front of his chest, like a catholic saint might do.

,, You can talk with me, and don't be afraid to cry; even though all your friends says he isn't worth a single tear, it doesn't mean you're not hurting." Raven suppressed a dry laugh; this guy was far off the chart.

,, And if you should get lonely..." he offered and leaned closer to the door, hands resting on the plastic as if he was trying to push it down. Raven lifted her chained up hands, which were now fists, and slammed them hard into the door, scratching the material with the cold metal of the cuffs. The guy just sniggered and leaned closer.

,, Don't you worry, hon', we'll soon be together. I don't care if your family wouldn't understand, you're all that matters." Raven slammed her fists and the cuffs into the door again, wanting to be on the other side and wipe that grin of the clowns face.

,, Wanna know how I got these scars?" he asked, excited like a child.

,, Raven." the mouse voice of Rozetta sounded behind her. Raven was at the same time happy and scared to hear that Rozetta sounded uneasy; happy, because it was a reaction. Scared, because if something was so insane that it penetrated Rozetta's shield of sticky-sweet ignorance, Raven should be scared too.

She turned. Rozetta and the blond man, Joe, were standing in the middle of the hall, both looking at Raven like she had broken an expensive vase.

,, Now, don't you make enemies on your very first day, sweetie." Rozetta said. The clown behind Raven chortled.

,, Raven?! Hello, Mr dr., Sssscccaaaarrrrccrrroowwww...! I found you a bird...!" he shouted to someone in the hall maybe, most likely in his head. No one answered anyway. Raven spun around and hammered her fists against the door.

,, I don't care about your fucking scars, Pennywise, but if you don't shut that maw in a hurry, I'll add some new to your collection...!" she threatened, fists still resting on the plastic where they had connected. Pennywise beamed back at her.

,, Now, sweetie, don't you make any enemies on your very first day." he said and Raven almost flung herself at the door. Then, two strong hands grabbed her arms and she was yanked away from the grinning clown, and Rozetta walked up in front of her.

,, Now, Raven, that wasn't very nice." she lectured, then turned to the clown.

,, Joker, you promise to be good to Raven, she going to stay with us for some time." "Joker" didn't answer, he just smiled at Raven who, in burning return, glared back. Rozetta bent down and picked up Raven's things, and walked further down the hall, Raven getting wrenched along by Joe. As they passed the other cells, Raven caught glimpses of the inmates; a red haired man, breathing on the plastic of his door to write question marks in the condensing breath, a pale, blond woman who walked around her cell like a tiger might do in a small cage. And... a man, slightly lanky in appearance, with dark brown, dark as rich chocolate, hair hanging moderately down over his eyes in a boyish manner. He was wearing his orange boiler suit oddly, like it was too big to fit his slim figure. As Raven was forced along, he lifted his hand in a smooth move and brushed away a few loose locks from his eyes, which were a penetrating blue. And then he gave her the subtle hint of a smile. Not a _haha, you're insane, too _or _woohoo, guys. Fresh tits _smile, more like _so, you're locked up here too? _but, he was insane and Raven shook the feeling off her. Two cells further down, in the opposite wall of where "Joker" and they lanky guy were, Rozetta stopped and pushed a button and the plastic door to the empty cell opened. Rozetta walked in and Raven was shoved after, the keeper Joe standing in the door like a security guard, arms crossed over his chest. The cell was simple; white painted brick walls and a solitary light bulb, dangling from the ceiling. There was a bed, the ugly, metal bed with white sheets that was used in hospitals, standing bolted to the floor up against the right wall, and a small window, with heavy, white painted bars in the wall opposite the wall with the door. Rozetta began unfolding a set of the asylum uniform and put it on the bed with Raven's bag. The other set and remaining socks and underwear got shoved under the thin pillow. Raven walked to the window and jumped up, grabbed the bars with her chained hand and dangled above floor level, looking out on the bleak view of the courtyard.

,, I paid for an ocean view room." she said, Rozetta and Joe ignoring her completely.

,, There, pumpkin, I thinks that's all for now. You change into your new clothes; there's lunch in half and hour." Rozetta said and looked like she was going to leave. Raven let go of the bars and dropped to the ground, turned and faced the leaving nurse.

,, Aren't you forgetting something?" she asked and held her chained wrists up in front of her.

,, Oh, thank goodness you reminded me, pumpkin. I was just about to leave." Rozetta said and pulled out a set of small keys, the ones used to handcuffs and freed Raven of her chains.

_No shit? _Raven spat in her mind and glared, rubbing her sore wrists and watched the two persons leave, the plastic door shutting after them. In the door, Raven saw now, were a small circle of holes above where she could not reach. Air holes, like in the lid of a jam jar with an interesting insect in it. Raven sighed.

She walked over to the bed and sat down, feeling every little piece of the metal under the thin mattress. She dragged her bag closer and began emptying the contents; pencils, paper, a few worn down paperbacks, some money and a pencil sharpener. There was no table in the cell, so she put the things down under her bed, along with the bag. Then she looked out of her plastic door and stated, that there was no cell opposite hers, only empty wall.

_Good, at least I can get some privacy. _she thought and pulled off her t-shirt, sneakers and trousers and stood for a moment in the cell, freezing in her underwear. She walked back to the bed and pulled on the white top and crawled into the uniform, which fitted her almost to perfection. The upper part of the boiler suit had short sleeves, like a t-shirt and a rubber band sown into he waist to hold it up. Raven made sure the trousers were tight, then she let the remaining part of the uniform hang down behind her, walking around in her top. She sat down once more and pulled out a worn notebook and a well-chewed pencil, and flickered through the pages, until she found where she had left of. And she began to write. A letter.

A voice wailed through the halls and made Raven break the point of her pencil. Joker was laughing, maybe he had found a particular amusing spider, or maybe he just found the whole thing so absurd laughing was all he could do. Raven sighed and placed the notebook and the pencil under her mattress, so she knew they were relatively safe. Her feet were cold, so she pulled on a pair of socks. Then she lay down on her back on the bed, resting her head on her hands, and stared up at the concrete ceiling, counting cracks and cobwebs.

_Suddenly, jail sounds really good..._


	2. Chapter 2

New fiends.

Someone knocked on Raven's door, dragging her out of her dreamless meditation.

,, Miss Scarecrow?" someone, a keeper, said.

,, Scarrow." Raven grumped and sat up on the bed, rubbing her eyes. The guard, dressed in hospital white and green, looked at Raven with bored eyes.

_Whatever _they said.

,, Lunch is ready." he announced and opened the door. Raven was starving, so she grabbed her white sneakers and pulled them on. They were completely blank, no logo or anything to indicate where they had been fabricated. She got up voluntarily, knowing if she didn't, the keeper would get physical.

,, This way." he said and led Raven out into the empty dorm. He led her to a huge, white room, where Arkham's finest collection was having lunch. Some were eating with their fingers, scooping up the grey stuff and stuffing it into their mouths, some were being fed by nurses, sitting with plastic spoons and forks and helping the drooling creatures munch down every little bit. Some just ate normally. Raven looked around, desperate to find an empty table, but they were all filled up with basket cases. Except...

,, Can I sit down there?" Raven asked her guard and pointed to a six man table down in the corner of the room, furthest away from the viewless windows. The guard shrugged and began to walk down the rows of oddities. Almost all of them looked up from their trays and watched as Raven walked by. The walk from the door to the empty table felt like a dessert. But finally, she sat down on the white painted bench and rested her elbows on the table.

,, Thanks." she said to a nurse, who passed by with a steel cart filled with trays of... "food" and a plastic cup with water. The cutlery was of plastic, a piece vaguely like a knife and a fork with the points filed down, so no one could cut himself or any other. Raven looked down at the stuff; it could be pasta, it could be porridge. She picked at it and sighed heavily; great food for a great place.

A tray came sliding over the table, slowing down and stopping just beside Raven's. A person sat down on the bench and slid down to where Raven sat, placing his elbows on the table and resting his head in the back of his interlocked fingers. Joker.

,, So, how's your first meal in the nuthouse?" he asked and fluttered his eyelashes at her. Raven just concentrated on her food, shaking with a burning need to punch the clown face. She scooped some of the mass up on her fork and took a bite and almost choked. She moved her hands up to hold her hair back so she could spit the paste out, but Joker interrupted her.

,, I wouldn't do that if I were you." she glared at him with her amber eyes.

,, If you spit it out, they'll think you can't eat on your own.

And then you're on the force feed pony." he wasn't lying. Raven gathered the bile in her mouth and swallowed, with the greatest force. And coughed from the slime in her throat as the thing ran down her stomach.

,, Attagirl." Joker said and patted Raven on the head. She shoved him away and went back to her food, deciding mentally to eat the stuff, just so she could muster enough strength to keep her hands off Joker's throat. She took another bite and chewed a couple of times and swallowed again, feeling her eyes water.

,, What the hell is this?" she asked and almost drank half of her water in one gulp.

,, Well, it's a special, high on fibre mass, made by professional chefs in high-tech kitchens in Japan, made to cover our every need as a human being."

,, Or maybe it's some homogenised crap, made to make sure that no one drops dead from allergies or anything like that." she pushed Joker away, as he had moved up close while they talked.

,, 5 feet at all times, Scarface." she said.

,, Aw, c'mon sugar lips, throw me a bone."

,, Either shut up, or I'll throw you a bone from your insides...!"

,, Ooh, that sounds fun." he leaned closer to Raven. She took her tray and tried to stand up.

,, I'm leaving." she said, but Joker grabbed her arm and yanked her back down on the bench.

,, Aw, we were just getting to know each other." Raven tried to tear free, but Joker had a grip like a vice, and all she managed was to feel her bone creak.

,, Let go...!" she hissed. He did, so sudden she almost fell backwards to the floor.

,, Leave her alone, Joker." one of the keepers walked up and looked down at the two persons. Joker grinned up at the guard.

,, Just getting to know our new friend." Joker said and folded his hands in his lap, smiling at the guard, who narrowed his eyes but turned and walked back to the wall.

,, I'm still leaving." Raven announced and stood back up. She took her tray and managed take some steps, before Joker grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back to the table, Raven almost dropping her tray.

,, Joker!" a keeper shouted, and Joker pushed Raven down on the bench, held up his hands like he was being arrested and sat down across from her, smiling ever so sweetly and insane.

,, What the hell did I ever do to you?" Raven asked, eyes dripping acid at Joker.

,, Oh, you're the only fresh blow of air around here. I wanna know what's moving outside..." he leaned in over the table, like they were girlfriends.

,, So... Did you cheat on ya' boyfriend?" Raven was about to fly over the table and tear the Joker's head off, but a bell rang somewhere and the keepers all stepped forward.

,, Aw, lunch is over." Joker said and stood up.

,, Time for recess... See ya' later, sweetheart." Raven didn't stand up, she just glared at Joker when he walked away. A new keeper walked up to the table.

,, Miss Scarecrow?" he asked and Raven rolled her eyes.

,, Scarrow." she sighed and got up.

,, What's happenin' now?" she asked and walked alongside the guard.

,, Well, depending on your dormitory, you're going to have a little break now. Some goes outside and gets some fresh air, some goes down and have a story read... Which dorm are you?"

,, The one with scary ass Scarface in it." she said and crossed her arms over her chest.

,, Oh, you mean Joker... Let's see..." he looked on the papers of his clipboard.

,, You're going to the 'playroom'." Raven stopped dead in her tracks.

,, You're fucking kidding. Please tell me you're kidding...!" he laughed slightly.

,, No, but it's not like it sounds. You'll see." Raven noticed the guy was the first friendly she had met in a very long time.

,, What's your name?" she asked. The keeper was about a few years older than her, with gingery hair and freckles. His eyes were green and he looked like he knew Raven wasn't a mental case.

,, Billy." he said. Raven reached out her hand.

,, Hello Billy. I'm Raven." they shook hands and Billy led her down the halls to a bolted door, with a guard on each side. One of them opened the door and Raven walked in; a couch, comfy chairs, a bookshelf and two tables. More like a living room than a playroom, even though the walls, ceiling and floor were all white and there were no carpeting or any other thing to make it homey, with six guards patrolling it by the walls. And it had a window. A real window. Raven walked to it and looked out; Gotham city stood and looked back at the little island. Out there and over the hills, freedom, just out of reach. Raven could almost feel the fresh air.

Someone walked up and smacked Raven's butt, making her fly in the air. She turned around with fists ready for a fight, facing Joker once more.

,, Hiya, cupcake." he said. Raven bit her teeth together so it hurt and edged around the grinning guy and sat down at a table. She wouldn't like to get in a fight on her first day; tomorrow, Hell in all its burning pain would rain down on Joker. She leaned back and looked at the books on the shelving; big, colourful picture books, and brainless women's digests. Nothing of interest, but to drive away boredom, Raven pulled out a copy of _Matilda _and flickered to the first page, trying to ignore the other people around her. Raven's plan was simple; keep away from the crazies until she was given a cell at a regular prison. Joker's arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind and he rested his head against hers.

,, Wanna watch _Dr. Quinn _with me?" he asked.

_Fuck the 'no fighting' rule, you're going down! _Raven wrestled free and lurched herself at Joker, sending him to the floor and landing on top of him, sending a shower of fists down over his face. Joker didn't put up a fight, which was very strange. Then, as a pair of keepers grabbed Raven by the arms and pulled her of the clown, she understood why; now, she was going to be in trouble for starting a fight.

,, Miss Scarecrow, we wouldn't like to see you get isolated on your first day here." one said, fighting to keep Raven at bay, even though she fought to wring free.

,, So we're going to give you another chance, if you promise not to get in another brawl with anyone." the other said. Before them, Joker got up and grinned at her, before slumping down in the sofa beside the red haired man with the question marks. The guards dragged Raven back to her chair and almost threw her down on it.

,, You just sit here and read your book." the first one ordered and yanked her arm one last time, before letting go. Raven wanted to jump back up and fight, but even though the guards here didn't carry guns, Raven had already been tased twice in her life, and she wasn't going for a third. Furiously, she grabbed the book and wanted to throw herself down the pages, getting lost in a world of childish justice.

Someone walked over and pulled out the chair in front of Raven and sat down, Raven concentrating on the book and the book only, expecting it would be Joker.

,, That wasn't a very wise thing to do." the person said; he had a soft voice, calm and cool, like he knew everything about everyone. Raven looked up from the very bright Matilda and found herself gazing into a pair of penetrating blue eyes. The guy from the opposite wall, the one who had smiled as she was dragged by.

,, No kidding?" she said sarcastically and turned the page, only to find it ruined by drool, crayons and something she hoped was blood. She closed the book with a sigh and threw it aside on the table.

,, It seems to me that you have some issues with your anger." the guy went on, Raven not knowing if to tell him to fuck off or not. He seemed... sane enough, even though he was living in the 'closed' corridor.

,, No..." Raven shook her head, making her hair follow the movements.

,,... My anger's doing just fine. It's smiley face over there I got issues with." she said and nodded in Joker's direction. The guy gave the softest trace of a smile and held out a hand.

,, I don't think we have yet been properly introduced, miss... Scarecrow, was it?" Raven crossed her arms and lifted one foot, placing it on the chair beside her, leaning back and glaring at the guy.

,, Listen, pal, I don't know who you pissed off to get in here, but I don't need to get to know you just because we're sharing the same boat. I'm not like you and I'm planning to leave in a hurry..." she turned her head to the window, to indicate the conversation was over, but turned back almost immediately.

,, And it's Scarrow. Not freaking Scarecrow, Scarrow." the guy chuckled.

,, No, of course you're not insane. In fact," he leaned closer, as if to share a secret.

,, no one here is." Raven made a sound, a tired and loathing _go away _sound and turned her gaze back to the window.

,, Let's see, Caucasian, female, late twenties, middle class..." Raven turned her head slowly back to face the lanky guy; he was... analysing her, that goddamn freak!

,,... anger issues, hostile, knows a trick or two in fighting, sane..." he thought her sane. Not that stupid, after all.

,, knows her place and hates it." he finished and looked rather pleased with that.

,, That leaves... What was it, arson, armed robbery, manslaughter and... murder." Raven shifted her position again, leaning in over the table on her elbows, one leg still resting on the chair.

,, Wauw...!" she growled in a low voice.

,, That was fucking amazing...! Can you do magic tricks too?" he chuckled again, making Raven want to aim for his more valued parts with her shoe.

,, Cute.

I twist minds, not balloon poodles." he looked at Raven.

,, But with you, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference anyway." Raven gathered the mucus in her throat and spat the guy in the face, hitting his one eye and making it look like he was shedding a solitary white tear. He twitched.

,, Intelligent." he said and wiped the slime off his face with the back of his hand. He was actually quite cute; Raven couldn't help notice, even Joker had once been pretty. But this one possessed another kind of handsomeness, the kind that made him look like the ideal couch partner, the one you could snuggle up against and watch an old horror movie with. He was thin as a stick, but not in an ugly, anorectic manner or like a model; it suited him. Raven shook her head, what the Hell was running through her head?!! First day in an asylum and she was already going crazy!

Jonathan Crane, on the other hand, stopped a moment to remember; sometime ago, he had been the owner of Arkham, been able to do whatever he wanted, whatsoever. Now, third-rate criminals used him as a spittoon.

,, Miss Scarrow, I feel it is only fair to let you know, that I am in these seconds restraining myself, and I would advise you to stop your behaviour whilst you still can." Raven sniffed.

,, And you know, I'm really scared. So please, Mr. big dangerous psychologist, don't hurt a weak and feeble middle class female Caucasian like me...!" she got up from the chair and walked back to the window, looking at Gotham with dark eyes.

,, What are you gonna do? Analyze me to death?" then she was grabbed by the shoulder and forced around and felt two slim hands around her neck, pressing and squeezing with a doctors knowledge, making it hurt as much as possible.

,, Not yet...!" the smooth voice of the blue eyed guy spat, forcing Raven up against the window. Then he stopped, muscles went into a spasm and cramped, eyes rolled, and he let go of Raven and fell to the floor, unconscious. Behind him stood one of the guards, taser clutched in his white hands, the other keepers standing and making sure none of the other psychos got too excited over the scene. Joker was sitting backwards in the couch, grinning widely at Raven.

,, Did the mean old Scarecrow frighten the little Raven?" he asked as two additional keepers walked in and collected the body of the keeled over... was he the infamous Scarecrow? None of the keepers bothered about Raven, she still stood, so she was free to walk over and fall down a comfy chair. She pulled her legs up and made a mental list, her neck still sizzling with from the connection with the soft, killing hands;

_Raven Scarrow's survival guide to Arkham Asylum;_

_Don't talk to anyone wearing the orange uniform._

_Keep away from Scarface. _That was just common sense, but still...

And, for the next few days, until he was cooled off

_Keep at least 30 feet away from Scarecrow... _


	3. Chapter 3

Day one, ending.

Raven spent the rest of the time in the living/playroom in the chair, wondering if she could survive a year and a half without going insane. In the couch, Joker watched soap after endless soap, making Raven grit her teeth. Tomorrow...

After some time, the keepers announced that it was time to go back to their cells, and they all got escorted like cattle around the halls. By serendipity, Joker and Raven got to walk beside each other, guards behind them and in front of them.

,, So, nice to see you're getting along with the other guys." Joker said and Raven begged tomorrow would come a hell of a lot before time.

,, They should know better..." he said and nodded towards the backs of the two guards.

,,... letting a Raven and a Scarecrow sit at the same table. I tell ya' this place is slipping." Raven was still silent.

,, Scarecrow got your tongue?"

,, Shut up." and he did. They were all led to their cells and Raven caught a glimpse of Scarecrow, happily on a boat to Dreamland, lying on his back on his bed in the cell, looking like he was going to wake up with a hangover like non other. Raven smiled.

Her own cell was as cold and depressing as she had left it. Raven thought of getting some posters for the walls, making it look more... homey. She sat down on her knees and reached for her bag, but grabbed nothing but air.

,, What...?" she lay down and scouted in under the bed; nothing.

,, Where's my stuff? My clothes?" she asked the guard, who was about to lock the door.

,, No prisoners are allowed to have any personal belongings in their cells." he said dryly.

,, Hang on, I'm not a mental case...! I need my stuff...!" she tried, but the guard just walked away. Raven slammed her fists against the door.

,, Idiots!" she shouted. Joker laughed in his cell.

,, Somethin' the matter, honey dove?" he asked.

,, Shut it!" she shouted back. She walked around her cell for some time, boiling inside and wanting to strike out and punch someone. Finally, she sat down on the bed and pulled off her shoes, throwing them into the wall and slammed down the thin sheets, wondering how the Hell she could get her stuff back. Then she realised something and pulled her mattress up; her notebook and the solitary pencil were still there.

_Great, they didn't get it all... _Raven tried to make the small victory count for something, but it was hard. She already missed her bag; she couldn't believe that some... stranger had been in her stuff.

Guards patrolled the hall every hour, but Raven somehow managed to roll onto her sides and sleep. There was nothing else to do.

*

_Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang...! _Raven pulled the thin pillow up over her head and groaned; she just wanted to sleep.

,, Scarecrow, time to get up." a keeper said. Raven shot up in her bed.

,, It's _Scarrow!_" she spat and rolled out of the bed as the door opened and the guard walked in.

,, Dinner time." he said. Raven walked over and took her thrown away shoes and pulled them on.

,, Oh, yet another culinary rollercoaster of tastes so soon? I'm truly privileged." the keeper apparently didn't understand sarcasm, or maybe he didn't care at all. The walk down the hall ran silently and, luckily, the table in the corner was still free. Raven almost ran for it; Arkham was like school. And Raven had arrived in the middle of the year and all the cliques had already been made. A tray was put in front of her, the same grey guck as for lunch.

_Wonder what's for breakfast... _Raven thought and stirred the "food" around with her pointless plastic fork.

,, Hey..." a sweet, sensual woman's voice said and Raven looked up; the pale blond woman from the dormitory, the one who had looked like a tiger in a cage, stood in front of Raven, tray in her hands.

,,... Can I sit here?" she asked and slid down on the bench, not really expecting an answer.

,, Better you than Scarface." Raven mumbled, ignoring survival rule number 1, and took a bite of the porridge.

,, You've been quarrelling with Joker." the woman said and munched her food down.

,, And Birdbrain."

,, Scarecrow."

,, Seemed like Birdbrain to me." Raven said and the woman smiled and ran a white blond curl behind her ear.

,, Yeah, he did seem to come off a little strong." she woman said, her mouth full of the paste.

,, I think that's just crazy man's language for 'Welcome to the neighbourhood.' " Raven liked the woman.

,, I'm Raven." she said and held out her hand.

,, I know, you're the sane one.

Selina Kyle." Raven almost fell back as they shook hands.

,, _The _Selina Kyle?!" the woman smiled triumphantly.

,, The one and only."

,, But... you're Catwoman...! You're not..." Raven realised how loud she was talking. She turned down the volume.

,,... insane." Selina sighed and shook her head.

,, Yeah, but when you try to explain the ambulance driver that you still have nine lives, this is where you end up."

,, Bummer." Raven couldn't help mumble. Selina shrugged.

,, Nah, I'll be out sooner or later."

,, Well, if this isn't swell...!" Joker's tray landed beside Raven's and Joker landed beside Raven.

,,... Two of my favourite animals, sitting and enjoying their meal, like proper friends should."

,, Oh, things are about to get wild." Selina said. Joker nudged Raven in the side with his elbow.

,, So, have you seen Scarecrow around here lately? Or is he still sleeping?"

,, What can I say, I have a way with guys." Raven growled and shoved Joker back.

,, Mmhn, really electrifying." Selina smiled, but Raven felt like she was on her side. Raven had been in high school; she knew how to bitch.

,, Sounds really interesting." Joker edged closer and Raven tried to push him away again. It didn't work. Then Selina's body snapped like a coiling snake and Joker bent like a Swiss army knife, groaning and laughing and clutching his reproductive organs. Selina smiled like a Cheshire cat.

,, Thanks." Raven said and shoved the broken Joker further away.

,, No sweat." the Catwoman said. Joker still sat with his head on the counter, sniggering and cursing from the pain. Raven and Selina ate in cosy silence, both smiling down their food. When Joker finally straightened back up, Raven pushed his tray up in front of him. But Joker didn't eat; he looked grinningly at something, someone, who walked in of the door.

,, Ya' know, like every good soap, now and again you need some tension." he said and grinned wider, as the only available seats were at their table. The lanky figure walked over and sat down, resenting and as far away as possible.

,, Our tension has just arrived." Joker said and grinned at the persons at table, Scarecrow not looking up from his fresh tray of paste. His hair was slightly tousled, he had been turning in his sleep, but he ran a hand through it and it smoothed out instantly. Raven couldn't help envy him; it took her hours brushing her hair.

,, So..." Joker leaned closer to Scarecrow, he liked being as close to the persons he talked to as possible.

,,... First date and she already knocked you off your feet. Thinking about asking her out again?" Scarecrow looked up and glared a _shut up _look at Joker, then returned to his meal. Joker slid back down the bench to where Raven sat.

,, But, with all these modern women around, maybe you should ask him out?" Raven didn't even bother to look up; the kick Selina had sent Joker had taken some of her anger away. But she was still going to kick his ass tomorrow. Selina just smiled at the scenery. Joker slid back to Scarecrow.

,, All right, maybe you're still unsure. Do you really like her or not? But, that's easy to figure out; when you touch, does it feel like you're struck by lightning?" all three of them, Selina, Joker and even Raven sniggered. Raven had won silver for her high school bitching, and rule number one was; if they bullied someone you didn't like, they won temporarily immunity. Scarecrow tightened his grip around his fork and his neck turned red.

,, Lightning or any other electric source?" Selina asked.

,, I think 'lightning' but that's just to make it sound more romantic." Raven said.

,, Yeah, 'Struck by a toaster in the bathtub' doesn't really make my knees go wobbly." Joker said and the trio sniggered louder this time. Scarecrow tried to ignore them, but Raven saw the anger burning inside him. Then, she remembered; Scarecrow got violent when he lost it. So she shut up, even though Joker kept on teasing.

,, It's like 'Romeo and Juliette'; everything speaks for you two not being together. But Raven seems like a though girl to me..." Joker Winfrey slid back up to Raven.

,,... You're not letting that Scary crow scare you away, are you?"

,, Joker," it was first time she was using his name.

,, shut up."

,, Ah, once more, I have to be the fairy godmother." Joker sighed and got up, Raven begging he was going back to his cell. But no...

Joker walked over to the other side of Raven and gave her a sudden push, so she slid further in on the bench. Joker sat down and gave he another push, Raven striking out after him and missing. She slid the last piece of way and now sat directly opposite Scarecrow. Raven's tray was sent sliding after her.

,, You just talk amongst yourselves now." Joker instructed and made himself comfortable alongside Selina, getting ready to watch the show with the promise of fireworks at the finale. Scarecrow scowled at Raven who glared back.

,, To be fair, it's not me you should be pissed at." Raven said, not looking up from her plate.

,, Because of you, miss Scarrow, my spinal cord got electrocuted...!" Scarecrow said lowly, not hissing.

,, You could have ignored me...! You didn't have to play psychiatrist with me...!" in the other end of the table, Joker leaned in to Selina.

,, Their first fight, this is good...!" neither Raven nor Scarecrow even bothered to shout _shut up_.

,, Well, you shouldn't be so offended; I merely wished to bid you welcome."

,, Yes, there's nothing like a maniac squeezing my throat to the size of a straw that says 'Hi neighbour!' "

,, Miss Scarrow, you're in a nuthouse; I'm surprised you haven't been raped yet...!"

,, Funny, I was just going to say _exactly _the same thing to you." down the table, Selina chuckled approving and Joker made a sound like when you press on a bruise and shook his hand like he had burned it.

,, Now, _that _had to hurt...!" he commented. Scarecrow's mouth twitched.

,, You should go." he said, sounding more like he was warning and advising her. And Raven saw that it was true; he _was _restraining himself. Something inside him burned and awaited to be let out and hurt somebody. She remembered the feeling of his fingers around her throat and she got up, leaving the empty tray behind.

,, Aw, it was just getting interesting...!" Joker said, but Raven just kept on walking. One of the patrolling keepers paced after her.

,, Raven?" Billy asked and walked up on her one side.

,, Hey... Can I go back to my cell?" she asked and wrapped her arms around herself as they passed the tables with the bullnecked maniacs, who began whistling and shouting at Raven.

,, Uhm, sure. There's nothing more to do for the day... I'll take you..." he said and Raven mimed a 'thanks' as they walked out of the lunchroom.

,, Billy, is it possible for me to send any mail?" she asked as they reached her cell and Billy pushed the button and they went in.

,, Mail?"

,, Yeah, I've got some friends I'd like to write to, so I just wanted to know if it was possible?" Billy thought about it for some time, whilst Raven sat down on her bed and pulled off her shoes and socks.

,, Actually, I'm not allowed to do this... But... Tomorrow, you can get a pen and some paper and you write something and I'll send it for you. Deal?" Raven thought it unwise to tell Billy that she already _had _paper and pencil, so she just smiled and nodded along.

,, Great...!" Billy walked out and the door closed.

,, Light's out at ten and there's breakfast at nine."

,, 'night." Raven said and Billy left. She hadn't been given any PJ's, so she pulled off her top and zipped up her uniform completely and crawled down under the thin sheets. Maybe she slept right away, but she couldn't remember afterwards.


	4. Chapter 4

Day two, beginning.

The "breakfast" was, as Raven sadly had expected, the same yucky stuff that got served for lunch and dinner. She ate the guck only in fear of losing her strength. What Birdbrain had said yesterday, about being raped... He was right, and Raven needed to keep her guards up. She swallowed without chewing too good, fearing that Joker would come. And he did.

,, Hiya, hot stuff." he greeted and sat down. Raven ignored him.

,, How are ya'? After yesterday, I was wondering if you would show."

,, Well, here I am." Raven munched, not looking up from her tray. Selina walked over and slid down, along with the red haired guy with the question marks.

,, Raven, this is Riddler. Riddler, Raven." she introduced bored and began eating. Riddler nodded and grinned in the most creepy manner, Raven shrugging back at him to show she didn't give a rat's ass who he was.

,, The group's almost assembled now, we just need..." Joker nudged Raven's ribs and she shoved his arm away.

,,... Your prince Charming." Raven couldn't wait to get back to the living room; she was going to make Pennywise wish he'd never met her. As if on cue, Birdbrain lanked along and slumped down at the corner seat, hating that there was no other place to sit.

,, Hey, we're like a gang...!" Joker said.

,, The Though Dorm...!" he said and made jazz hands as he did, imagining their gang name in neon on Broadway.

,, We should get tattoos!" he ranted on. Raven went back to ignoring the world around her and ate in silence.

,, You know, you still haven't figured this dating thing quite out." Joker grabbed Raven by the arm and pulled her further in on the bench. Raven cursed at him and tried to tear free, but he was too strong. Her tray was sent after her and she was now sitting opposite Birdbrain again. He glared at her. She mirrored his glare back and timed it with ten.

,, You should talk about now." Joker said, like he was helping some autistic kids to paint a butterfly or a smiley face.

,, We don't have to make any dinner conversation." Raven said as she looked down on her "food" and took another forkful of it. It was like eating glue mixed with paste and sand.

,, Ya' know, you aren't the most entertaining soap I've seen."

,, Then change channel." she fired back.

,, I'd love to, honey, but I've gone and lost the remote." Raven sniffed at him and began eating again.

,, Nothing like a candlelight dinner...!" Scarface went on. None of them reacted.

Then a hand the size of a dinner plate got slammed down on Raven's shoulder and she dropped her fork and almost broke from the weight.

,, So..." a voice like a boulder said.

,,... you're new, right?" Raven looked up; a _huge _man stood at the table, small pig eyes starring out from a flesh coloured, dough like face. Raven shoved the guy's hand off, using all her strength and both of her hands.

,, Yeah. So?" she noticed that everyone at the table had stopped eating; even Birdbrain looked out between his brown locks, acting like he wasn't interested. The huge hand moved up and flopped down on her head, making Raven wonder if her neck could simply break under the weight.

,, I like your hair." the guy said and ran his short, fat fingers through Raven's char grey tresses. She ducked under his hand and pushed him away.

,, Good for you." she said, tensing her muscles like a cat.

,, You're pretty." he said and moved closer. Raven swung her legs up on the bench and edged backwards, until she was leaning up against Joker. None of the keepers even turned their heads in the direction of the table.

,, I wanna play with you." the man said and reached out for Raven's breasts. Raven kicked him in the groin and when he curled down with a howl of pain, Raven's other shoe connected, hard, with his face and he flew backwards to the floor. Two guards ran to the table where Raven still sat leaning against Joker, chest heaving with rage and disgust in the remembrance of the man's greasy fingers in her hair.

,, Miss Scarecrow, what do you think you are doing?" one guard asked.

,, _Scarrow..._!" she gasped.

,,... and he started it." she said and looked and the fainted person on the floor. Two more keepers showed up and helped the guy onto his feet and dragged him out of the room. Raven felt like _all _eyes were on her. Then the guard sighed and walked on; he didn't care as long as no one got killed.

,, Don't do it again." he ordered half hearted. Raven let out a sigh of relief and tilted her head backwards. Then she remembered she was leaning against the Joker and scurried back to her own corner.

,, That was cool." Selina said. Raven shrugged.

,, That was necessary." she mumbled. And she just went back to her eating, like it had been nothing. She still shuddered from the feeling of his hand from time to time, but nothing more.

*

After "breakfast" the different dorms got led to their separate scheduled activities. Then resting time in their cells, then lunch. After "lunch" they would be led to new activities. Then some more resting time in their cells, then "dinner" then done.

Raven and the other people from the corridor she was living in got escorted outside with another dorm. "Outside" was a fenced and barred enclosure with barbed wire running along the top, so no one could get out. Three sides of the enclosure were bare, showing the steep sides between the inmates and the sea below Arkham's one side; the last was a cold brick wall. Guards with tasers and guns walked around, keeping the basket cases of each other. Raven sighed and slipped unnoticed into the left corner, leaning her back against the wall and starring out at the water and Gotham. Fresh air had never tasted better. Even the sun peeked out and bathed the stockade in warm spots. Raven almost relaxed.

A _huge _shadow blocked the spot Raven had been sitting in, warming herself like a cat. She looked up at the towering figure of the man from the lunchroom. Raven swallowed.

,, You kicked me." he said, trying to comprehend the meaning of the words in doing so. Raven slowly got to her feet, pressing her back against the wall, fists clenched. She didn't speak.

,, I don't like it, when people kick." he said. Raven felt very tiny. Then she screamed in pain as the man's fist slammed into her stomach, knocking the air from her lungs. She tried to strike back, but he grabbed her fist in his fat, greasy hand and hit her in the face with his free one. Raven screamed again, hoping that someone would hear her. She kicked out after the guy and hit his belly, but it was like kicking dough and she tripped and fell to the asphalt. The guy's huge foot slammed into her ribs and Raven let out a whimpering howl, begging for someone to come and get the guy away. And when the guy looked like he was ready for another kick, her prayers were heard; he stopped and howled as the metal points of a taser bored its way into his back. He stumbled to the ground, Raven hurriedly crawling away from where he might land on her and several guards ran to the spot, dragging the guy away to detention. One guard looked at Raven, stated she was still breathing and left it at that. Raven took a couple of deep breaths, then collapsed back on the ground. She didn't know how long she stayed like that, feeling the blows from the man hurt every time she took a mouthful of air, her hair blowing over her face, the cold air from the sea chilling her bare arms. She wondered if she should zip up her uniform, but she didn't bother to move just yet. Her head was buzzing and she could feel the blood running from her nose.

A pair of soft hands, the softest Raven had ever felt, grabbed her gingerly about the shoulders and helped her sit up and lean against the wall. Her eyelids were heavy and her sight was blurry, so she couldn't see who was helping her.

,, Now, let us have a look at you." a voice, equally soft yet strong like the hands said but Raven couldn't place it. The hands moved to her face and soft fingers wiped the blood away. Raven forced herself to open her eyes and looked up into the clear blue sky. She had never noticed how beautiful a shade of blue it was, she could sit and stare at it for hours and not grow tired. And then she blinked; the sky shrunk. She creased her brows and blinked again; now something appeared behind the two patches of sky, darker but not yet clear enough for Raven's fluttering vision to place. She blinked a couple of more times and the skies grew rounder and the thing behind it took shape, became cheekbones, lips, locks of brown hair, soft skin and a slightly concerned, slightly teasing look to it, until Raven realised she was sitting and starring into Birdbrain's- Scarecrow's- eyes. She shot back against the wall, all kinds of strange thoughts racing through her head. Scarecrow just send her the same, soft smile as he had when they had seen each other first time, then tilted her head slightly back and looked at her bleeding nose.

,, Well, miss Scarrow, I think you live to see another day." he smiled at her again. Raven just starred.

,, How's your ribs?" he asked. Raven didn't know what to answer; yes, they did throb a bit, but why should he care?

,, If you would like me to check if something is wrong, I need your consent in the matter." he said. Raven was still stunned, but after some time, not knowing why, she gave a small nod.

,, Good. Now, tell if this hurts." he moved one hand to her ribs and prodded them medically with two fingers. Raven didn't react. He moved his fingers further down and tried again; Raven twitched and gasped of pain.

,, A stabbing pain or a throbbing?" he asked.

,, Throbbing." she said and wrung under his fingers.

,, Why are you doing this?" she asked as he moved along her ribs, pressing them skilfully and noticing the smallest twitch of pain on her face.

,, To see if there's any broken bones... If there are..." his fingers touched another painful spot and Raven cringed.

,, Stabbing or thro..."

,, Throbbing.

And that's not what I meant; why do you even care if I'm hurt?" he smiled and stroked her ribs in a soothing manner, like it would make the pain go away.

,, Well, because I do not applaud the beating of people who cannot defend themselves. And you do not kick a person who is already on the ground." Raven pushed his hand away and glared meanly at him.

,, You fucking hypocrite. Either you're lying or you're just in the mood for playing the prince on the white horse...!" she said. Scarecrow lifted an eyebrow and looked at her with a fox-like glint in his eyes and that stupid smile on his face.

,, Oh?"

,, Yesterday, you tried to strangle me and you didn't give a fuck to a chance for me to fight back; and here you just comes along and thinks you can pretend it's never happened?!" he moved his fingers back to one of her sore spot and pressed it painfully hard, making Raven gasp from pain and wring up against the wall.

,, Gratitude, miss Scarrow, is something you should think of more highly." he murmured and pressed Raven's ribs so hard she had to bite her tongue.

,, And next time a person is helping you of his own, free will, you shouldn't question his actions."

,, In a nuthouse you should always question people's actions." Raven spat back and managed to wring away from Scarecrow's touch. She huddled down in the corner and scowled meanly at him, like an angry cat that was considering if its opponent was worth the trouble of a fight. Scarecrow just crouched on the ground and looked back at her.

,, Listen, I don't need your help. I don't need anything you have to offer me, so just fuck off, all right?"

,, Tut-tut miss Scarrow, your language."

,, Have we some kind of score to settle? Or is there some unknown reason for why you won't leave me alone?" Raven asked and crossed her arms over her chest.

,, Well, I do believe there still is a score to settle; I have, after all, just helped you."

,, After you tried to murder me, so how about we call it even and forget it ever happened?" she hissed.

,, Sounds enticing, but we can't settle our score completely..." he leaned closer, murmuring softly as if he feared people were listening.

,,... Until you have had the courtesies to say 'thank you'."

,, You're a real piece of work, you know that?" he bowed his head like he was a magician who had just made a white rabbit appear from a top hat, the act looking rather out of place when he was crouching down on the asphalt.

,, One tries."

,, Well, go and try somewhere else.

I took down that heap of wasted flesh, I can take down a stick insect."

,, I don't think you'd like to put that fantasy to the test, miss Scarrow."

,, Wanna bet?" she bit through her teeth.

,, Now I know it...!" Scarecrow exclaimed and smiled like a schoolboy.

,, Rebelliousness, passionate in speak, fights every man Jack around her... You were a school shooter." something stung inside Raven.

,, Fuck... off..."

,, I'm right, aren't I?" Scarecrow smiled. Raven didn't answer, she was far away...

_,... Raven get under the table! NOW!" Raven hurriedly crawled down and held her breath, banging her head against the table and still clutching her fountain pen in her hand. The classroom looked different from under the table; more... equal, with all the Jocks and the Preppies and the Princesses and the Teacher and the Geeks and the Freaks, cowering under their table, all holding their breaths and shaking with fear. _

_Then the door was kicked open, the class flying into the air as much as they could under their seats, and a person stepped in, guns in each hand..._

,, Miss Scarrow? Reverie of bygone days?" Scarecrow's smooth voice penetrated her painful memories, making her blink and look up, tears stinging in the corner of her eyes.

,, You have no fucking idea of what you're talking about...! Running around, analyzing everyone around you, putting all of us into small, labelled boxes...!

And now it's time to taste your own medicine..." she spat. Jonathan Crane twitched, remembering a deep, booming, demonic voice, which had cleared his mind and made him realise he was something _extraordinary._

_,, Taste of your own medicine, Doctor?" _he had breathed in his own creation. And enjoyed it.

,, Male, Caucasian, early thirties, a bit above the middle class, but not wealthy... Ignorant, likes the sound of his own voice, skinny, clever..." he smiled at that.

,,... thinks himself above the rest of us.

You were the lanky kid who always got beat up during recess. You tried to run, but they always found you and kicked your ass even harder for being a coward. When you tried to fight back, you got knocked in the dirt and hated it even more then. So you read a couple of books, sitting in a corner where no one cared you were and glared out at the school in between chapters and swore vengeance.

So you began training, building up the muscles in your arms and legs, swimming and kickboxing maybe, and you read and grew smarter. Then you started a fight in the class and knocked your enemies to the ground..." Jonathan Crane was slightly impressed; the girl had gotten some details right.

,,... And you swelled in your victory, savouring every little drop and vowing never to drink anything but that again. And then..." the Scarrow girl flicked a lock of hair behind her ear.

,,... You got kicked out of school for breaking somebody's arm or leg or nose." Scarecrow laughed and clapped silently, nodding approvingly at Raven.

,, Impressive. Quite impressive." he held up a finger, as if he was to lecture her and point to something unseen.

,, There are, however, some incorrectness in your story.

First of all, my school didn't include bullies; it was a private school for gifted children, we were all equal there." Raven snorted at that. Every school had a bully. If not, it wasn't a school; you went to school to learn, bullies taught you a thing about life.

_Gifted children...!_

,, Secondly, I never resorted to violence."

_And that's why you offered me a nice cup of coffee yesterday and didn't at all try to strangle me...!_

,, And thirdly, I was the best student the school had ever seen. I wouldn't have gotten thrown out if I'd killed a teacher."

,, And yet you sit here." Raven said and leaned back against the wall, arms crossed over her chest.

,, As to you, miss Scarrow."

,, Don't call me that."

,, That is your name, is it not?" he raised a soft eyebrow.

,, Or is it 'Mrs.'?"

,, It's none of your fucking business. And don't play coy schoolgirl with me; you are the perfect type for getting bullied, don't act as if you can't remember.

Like the first time they kicked you when you were lying down, or the times you ran to some deserted toilet and cried while you tried to get the blood of your shirt and your face." had she known him? No, the idea was so simple it almost scared Jonathan for seeping into his mind, but those things had happened to him. But then again, who hadn't tried that?

,, Miss Scarrow, you seem to know a great deal about the psyche of the average school tyrant; the reason for your killing spree, I take it?"

_A pair of amber eyes, the deep, rich colour of strong tea or stronger whiskey looked out from under the table, watching the boy swagger into the classroom, the owner of the eyes holding her breath. The boy was young, 17, and he looked like he had been crying, his eyes were red and swollen. He was wearing a pair of black/grey/white camouflage trousers and a dark green t-shirt. His sandy hair was hanging down to his shoulders in greasy threads and he had a riffle in each hand, not even shaking from knowing he was carrying a pair of Satan's inventions, spreading despair and tears with each wretched bullet. Gordon. _

_Raven swallowed, still clutching her pen. Not some murderous, inbred jock. Gordon._

_,, Stand up." he ordered, his voice trembling where his hands didn't. Still, he wasn't to be disobeyed. No one reacted._

_,, Stand. Up!" he yelled and fired a shot, making puss from the plaster in the ceiling fall in a spray of dust, sending the kids in the class into a deep pit of fear, some crying, some wailing, the teacher sobbing, some cursing and Raven starring. And then, she edged forward, crawling out from the shadow of the table..._

,, What does it take to make you go away?"

,, As I said, all you need to do is thank me and I will be off." Raven glared at him, wanting to kick him in the face, but then a keeper blew a whistle and additional guards began walking around and collect the mental cases, like ticks on a dog. Scarecrow nodded politely to Raven, then stood up and reached down to help her to stand as well. Raven ignored him, got to her feet herself and walked past him, their shoulders connecting in a mean thud. She could feel Scarecrow was about to fly at her, so she quickly walked to Billy, who was standing and waiting by the door.

,, Raven... Your second day and already two persons tased and more warnings?"

,, I'm trying to break a record..." she said and shrugged. Billy sighed and shook his head.

,, Anyway, you want me to lead you back to your cell?" Raven looked over her shoulder at Scarecrow, standing and looking back at her, steely eyes making her freeze.

,, Yeah. I'd like that..."


	5. Chapter 5

Fight.

_Dear Susan._

_First letter from the nuthouse... My advise, store them in a box, it's something to tell your grandchildren. Tasteless jokes aside..._

_So, everything is as I expected it, some points a bit more gloomy maybe. The food is gross but edible (if one is hungry enough.) the company is... _

Sick, depraved, creepy, insane, violent, loathing, disturbed as well as disturbing, off the charts...! Murderers, maniacs, rapists, freak shows, all crammed into small cells... Just like school... I thought of Gordon today... More than once... I'm still thinking... I sort of miss him...

Raven shook her head, she couldn't write that.

_... interesting, even though I don't except to make any friends. I really miss some of the simple things, you know. Like fresh air or even ice cream. And it's been ages since I had a drink! And there's absolutely NO hot guys around. Yeah I know, why focus on that? But I have lived in an involuntary celibate for a very long time. _

Raven drew a little smiley there, so Susan wouldn't feel too guilty for her friend's current state of life.

_With a little work and a trick or two, I'll be out in a year, maybe less. Then a "normal"(God, I hate that word.) prison awaits, but then it's done and I can go back to my life. _

_First thing when I get out, the two of us are going to drink so bad our livers fail at some point._

Another smiley.

_And I need to get some action. _

Winking smiley.

_Your Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Future, Raven. _

Next to her name, Raven drew a bird soaring through the air. A raven. Her mark, her coat of arms. She folded the letter and wrote the address on it, so Billy could write it on the envelope later. She looked at the two notes and sighed; if she would expect a return, she would only expect one. From Susan.

She hid the letters under her pillow along with her clothes, and began starring at the ceiling. A year, maybe a year and a half with this...! The only thing that would be worse than living in Arkham Asylum would be living in Arkham Asylum and _share _a cell with one of the nutters. As if one cue, Joker began laughing insanely again, his voice echoing through the white painted halls of Arkham. Raven pressed her face down in the bed, forcing her pillow down over her head, trying to choke to sound.

_I could be living with Joker... _

,, Hey!" she shouted, lifting her head from the bed.

,, Shut up!"

,, Sorry toots, just in the mood for a little background noise.

I can sing too."

,, Oh goodness NO!" Selina called from her cell.

,, Aw c'mon, I can do requests."

,, Here's a request;" Raven shouted.

,, Shut up!"

,, Don't really know that one... Try to whistle it and I'll give it a go."

,, Oh, would you shut up?!" Riddler joined in.

,, Ya' know pal, yer riddles are getting badder and badder." Joker sniggered back.

,, Worse." Selina muttered.

,, Sorry kitten?"

,, It's not 'badder'. His riddles are getting _worse_."

,, Yeah, I failed at grammar at school."

,, How about shutting up?" Riddler asked again.

,, Now, that's the _worst _one so far! See, I can do grammar me." Raven spun in her bed, like it would block out their voices, but all she achieved in doing so, was slamming her kneecap against the white concrete wall. She cursed.

,, Ouch...!" she grabbed her knee, curling up in foetus position and squeezing her eyes shut. She bit her lip and wondered if anyone outside even wondered about the prisoners on the inside. Like her family? Even though she wrote letters to her brother at every chance she got, she knew they were all thrown out. Unopened.

A guard knocked on her door.

,, Scarecrow. Lunch is served." the door opened and Raven shot up in the bed.

,, _Scarrow!_" she growled and pulled on her shoes. And when the keeper didn't look, she slipped the two letters into her waistband and pulled her top out over them, so he wouldn't see them. This time, the whole dorm got led down to "lunch" together, all of them doing their best to ignore Joker. The canteen was crammed and noisy, as always. The group got led down to their corner table, which was free from other visitors, like it had been tainted by the freaks sitting there. Joker arranged the seats, meaning; shoving Raven down to Scarecrow, and the paste got served. Raven glared at Scarecrow for a second or two, then began scouting the room for Billy, so she could give him the letters in a hurry, making sure they got sent in a hurry. Billy was standing with his back to her, in the opposite side of the room so he couldn't see her. The paper itching against her skin, Raven took a scoop of the paste, "chewed" a couple of times and stood up, wanting to give Billy the letters as fast as possible. She walked down the rows of eating maniacs, not watching her steps...

A large hand grabbed Raven's arm, tugging her to a halt.

,, Hello gorgeous." a gruff voice said, tightening its grip around Raven's arm. A swastika was tattooed on the back of the hand. Raven forced herself to look further up the arm; the man had blond hair, cut close to his skull and the word

_Whitepride_

tattooed on his forehead. His eyes were watery blue and he had absolutely no hint of a neck. He grinned evilly at her and pulled her to him, sitting her on his lap and pressed his free hand, also a swastika on the back of it, over her mouth and choked every sound. The hand on her arm ran over her body, nestling at her thigh.

,, Good to see some new meat around here." Raven tried to strike out after him, but the other men at the table had decided to join in and she felt hands grab her arms, her hair and running over her chest. She squirmed and tried to shout but not a sound escaped her.

,, You know, to me, you look like a really dirty girl." the whitepride guy said as his hand began tearing in her uniform and moving up to her waist. The hands around her arms and hair began pulling her backwards, forcing her to the table, making trays of paste clatter to the floor, the noise drowning in the general sound from the canteen, and more groping hands joined in. She tried to tear free and kicked the guy in the chest, but it didn't stop his hand from moving down under her top and down where her trouser line began, ignoring the paper and concentrating on her skin.

_This is it... _Raven thought.

_I'm gonna die_... A pair of hands slipped down her top and cupped a feel, Raven trying to scream to catch the attention of one of the keepers. Maybe she could take one guy down, but not everyone at the table...! In a crazed moment, lying on her back and starring up into the white shine of one of the lights, hands tugging at the uniform and one of them moving to her crotch, fighting and feeling her muscles burning madly, Scarecrow's words came back to her:

_,, Miss Scarrow, you're in a nuthouse; I'm surprised you haven't been raped yet...!"_ well, she was going to now. She tried to shout something, to alert some of the keepers, but they were just like cops; they were never around when you needed them. As the hand moved closer to her crotch, Raven closed her eyes and tried one last time to tear free...

A person walked up to the whitepride guy and tapped him politely on the shoulder. Not really thinking, the gut turned to a fist, smashing into his teeth and knocking him out. When he blacked out, his hand over Raven's mouth loosened its grip and she shook it off, kicking him away from the table and her body. As the other hands retreated to fight the person helping her, she forced herself up and kicked away a couple of guys, the ones who had been trying to pull her top off, sending them both to the floor. Then she looked at the person helping her; greenish hair, dark eyes, scars twisting along his cheeks... Joker.

He grinned at her and helped her off the table, the other guys watching him but too afraid to charge, keepers noticing the uproar and running to the spot.

,, Nobody messes with The Tough Dorm, honey." he smiled at the baffled Raven, before he was tackled and sent to the ground as a couple of guards locked his arms on his back and forced his face down into the floor. Joker giggled wildly, Raven still standing and starring in wonder. Then she noticed the other men at the table were still sending her some dirty looks and she quickly turned, walking back to the table from whence she came, knowing it would take some time to erase the feeling of the men's hands on her body. Selina, Riddler and Scarecrow all sat where she had left them, looking at her in a mix of fascination and generally boredom.

,, Thanks for the fucking help...!" she spat at them as she slumped down on the bench, feeling some tears press on her eyes. Riddler returned to his paste, Selina and Scarecrow still watched her.

,, Now, _that's _'Welcome to the neighbourhood'!" Selina commented then went on eating as if they had been talking about the weather. Scarecrow didn't stop looking at her, thoughtfully.

Raven looked as they led Joker and Whitepride away, along with three of the other guys, then rested her forehead against the table and covered it with her arms, sniffing and fighting every tear back, even though a few escaped and ran shortly on her cheeks and feel to the counter. Meanwhile, the remaining guys at the table began muttering amongst the two of them and after some time, when the coast was clear, they got up and walked to where Raven sat.

,, So, a little pussy like you can't even take care of yourself?" one snorted, Raven looking up at the towering figures. She was tired and wanted to tell them to go to Hell, but she wasn't in the mood. She got herself to straighten up, resting on her elbows and wondered if they would go away if she ignored them. Like high school.

,, You listenin' to me, cunny?" one guy asked and grabbed Raven's hair, yanking her head back. Across from where she sat, Scarecrow rolled his eyes and put down his fork with a sigh.

,, Is a little dinnertime sound level really too much to ask for?" he asked and got up, pacing around the table and stopping beside the two men, looking like a very thin king fisher challenging a pair of vultures. The other guy, the one who wasn't pulling on Raven's hair, grabbed Scarecrow by the collar and lifted him of the ground in stretched arm, not even looking like he was making an effort.

,, I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Raven said, hands trying to wrestle the guy's fingers free from her hair, looking at Scarecrow dangling like a ragdoll or, well... a scarecrow at the end of the other guy's arm. She remembered his hands around her neck...

,, Did I tell you, you could speak?" the guy asked and yanked Raven back over the bench, making her fall very clumsily to the floor, her scalp burning when he dragged her to her feet.

Raven was _pissed_. She was tired, offended, still hungry, exhausted and the guy whose ass she had planned to kick had just saved hers, so she couldn't take him down... yet... Now, all her frustration would rain down over the guy holding her. But before she even got a chance to do something, involving her fist and the idiot's jaw, they guy holding Scarecrow began shaking violently, like he was having a seizure. Scarecrow still dangled from the end of his arm, looking the guy straight in the eyes with a piercing glare, dissecting him mentally.

,, Stop that!" the guy ordered but Scarecrow didn't react, he only tilted his head slightly and grabbed his collar with his own hands, easing the pressure on his neck.

,, I said, stop that!" the guy said again, panic building up in his eyes as it did in his voice. Instead, Scarecrow murmured something softly, like he was quoting it from a memory long time ago.

,, They scream and they cry..." the man loosened his grip and Scarecrow landed on his feet, still looking at the guy with a cool gaze.

,, Keep away from me! Keep the fuck away from me!" the guy stumbled backwards, tripped and landed on the floor, crawling back like a frightened child.

,, Interesting..." Scarecrow muttered to himself.

,, Bogyphobia...? A great big bully like you?" he smiled and took a step closer to the man, smiling so sadistically Raven felt her toes curls up and the little hairs on the back of her neck and on her arms rising. She tried to tug free but the guy holding her hair forced her back violently, looking at the scene in pale horror.

Scarecrow took another step, the guy on the floor backing up against the wall.

,, I'm sorry! I didn't know it was you!" he screamed, Scarecrow walking closer in graceful movements, like a... some sort of bird, something in the same line as a stork...

Raven cringed as she saw the glow in Scarecrow's eyes, so cold and fascinated with the guy's panicky fear.

,, The Sandman comes on tiptoe,

Will through the window peep," Scarecrow murmured, walking closer to the guy, who tried to strike out at him but missed every blow enormously. Raven shuddered and realized she had never heard a children's rhyme recited like that... It was so... Scary.

,, And look at the little children

Who ought to be..." Scarecrow was now up next to the guy, leaning down with those cold eyes glowing darkly.

,,... asleep." the guy on the floor was now hyperventilating, covering his tattooed face with his hands, gasping for air he never would get. Scarecrow's lips parted in the most wicked grin Raven had ever seen, making him look truly insane.

,, Boo." he muttered. The guy gasped hoarsely for breath, then fainted. Scarecrow chuckled.

,, My, aren't you interesting? I must remember to keep and eye on you in the future." he smiled. As the other guy, the conscious one, was busy with watching Scarecrow, Raven tugged her hair free from his hand and turned and knocked him in the ground. Before he could even get back to his feet, Raven's shoe connected with his teeth, again and again and again. Blood began spewing and left red drops on the white floor, Raven kicking and kicking and the guy wailing in pain.

,, If you ever hurt _anyone _again, you fucking bastard..." Raven shouted, looking at herself from the outside, seeing her rage take over.

,,... I promise I'll fucking kill you!" she felt the guy's nose break under her shoe, saw a pair of teeth getting kicked loose and spat out, she blackened his one eye heavily. And, when her rage and disgust faded, she returned to her own body just in time to feel guards grabbing her arms and yanking her away from the guy, forcing her one arm forward and then...

Raven cursed as she felt a small prick when a syringe needle was forced into her vein. The room billowed, her eyes grew heavy and all the sounds got turned down to a muffled whisper. Her limbs grew limp and she would have fallen to the ground if two of the guards didn't hold her by the arms. They were talking to her, probably telling her that hurting other prisoners and causing a dental bill the size of a delivery van was a big Arkham no-no. She didn't give a fuck about that, she couldn't hear them anyway. All she saw were the blue eyes of Scarecrow, before she was hauled off to her cell. Scarecrow was just standing and looking at her, smiling slyly before sitting down at the table again, ignoring Selina and Riddler, returning to his food like noting had happened.

Then he noticed something on the floor, where the keepers had collected the two men and dragged them to the infirmary. He got back up and walked around the table, then knelt down and picked up the two pieces of paper. He looked at them with a creased eyebrow, then folded them neatly and stuck them inside his uniform.

*

The keepers threw Raven on her bed and left without a word. Not that Raven would have heard them, she was too heavily drugged to register if they would have spoken. The cell was chilly but it didn't help at all, it didn't cool her off, she just shuddered and her weariness grew with every move. She curled up with the sheets and closed her eyes, freezing and shivering and begging for her mind to clear.

_,, Raven, get back down!" her teacher tried, but Raven didn't listen. The girl who had been sitting behind Raven in the class, a slutty Prom Queen she had never talked to, grabbed Raven by the ankle and looked her in the eyes, begging for her to get down. They had never spoken and now, Raven didn't know if the girl was helping because she cared for her, or if she just didn't want to see one of her classmates' brain matter getting smeared out over the room. Raven tugged free and turned back to Gordon._

_,, Raven... I thought you were sick..." he said, rifle lowering slightly but still pointing at Raven. She shrugged._

_,, Yeah, but I'm back. Susan said you'd wanted to talk to me, so I came." her nose was red and a thick black scarf had been wrapped around her neck. She looked tired and still sick and, if anyone even bothered to look, a pack of handkerchiefs and a bag of cough drops were lying on her table. The rifles shook in Gordon's hands, his eyes blinking when more tears tumbled down his cheeks._

_,, They know Raven... _Everybody _knows!" she shushed him gently and held up her hands in a comforting manner._

_,, It's all right, Gordon..."_

_,, No! It's NOT! It's fucking not!!" he shouted and pointed the gun at Raven..._

,, Scarecrow, it's time to get up." a keeper yanked Raven out of her drugged sleep, dragging her to the door and down the hall. Apparently, Raven wasn't going to miss out on _any _of the crazy man activities.

She was dragged into the playroom and got thrown down in a comfy chair, her head buzzing and her sight being like that of an old, faded photograph, where everything was either very clear or vey blurry. Selina, or a blurry image of a person looking exceedingly much like her, was sitting in the worn couch and flickered through the channels, Riddler, or a blurry image of a person looking exceedingly much like him, was sitting by the window and giggling into a joke book, held upside down. Joker was nowhere to be found, he was back in his cell. Why couldn't Raven just have stayed in her cell as well?

A person walked over and sat down on the edge of the other armchair.

,, Agraphobia." Scarecrow said, resting his elbows on his knees and leaning closer to Raven, softly smiling cleverly as he always seemed to do around her.

,, Go... away... Birdbrain." Raven said, her voice was so heavy and drowsy. She didn't care for what he had just said, she didn't care for him at all.

,, The fear of sexual abuse. I take it that was why you attacked that man in the canteen?"

,, Show me... a person... who doesn't fear... sexual... ab... abuse..." Raven said, her eyelids falling down and blocking out the asylum for a few golden seconds before she forced them open again. She didn't like the thought of being so vulnerable around Scarecrow.

,, Then I would have to take you for a stroll down the halls, but I'm sure we'd find some." Scarecrow smiled. In her drugged state, Raven smiled too, a tired smile that made her look like she hadn't slept for days.

,, And... I'm not... scared of being... raped... I just... _hate _violent... jerks...

What... that guy... the one you scared... the shit out off... what did you do... to him?" she asked drowsily, her mind spinning around and around.

,, Well, it's actually fairly simple." Scarecrow said, straightening slightly up.

,, Bogyphobia."

,, And... what is... that?" in her current situation, it seemed so normal to talk to Scarecrow like they were friends.

_Now _Raven was going insane.

,, An irrational fear of certain night-time characters, such as ghosts, the bogeyman, goblins..."

,, Or a... Scarecrow..." Raven finished, remembering how the guy had called out.

_,, I'm sorry! I didn't know it was you!" _Scarecrow nodded.

,, Or a Scarecrow, quite right." Raven's head grew heavy and tilted down on her chest, her mind begging for her to sleep and her eyes closing.

,, Miss Scarrow? How much sedative were you given?" Scarecrow's voice asked and he pinched her arm slightly.

,, I... don't... know...

... why?"

,, Well, occasionally the keepers prescribe too much of the drug and some of the inmates sleep for days." he took her head in his hands again, like in the yard outside, and titled her slightly back so they looked each other in the eyes.

,, Are you allergic to anything?"

,, Hypocritical jerks... and... regular son's of... bitches..." why was he helping her again? It annoyed Raven, not knowing the answer. Scarecrow overheard her comment and let go of her again, Raven using all her strength and held her head up by herself.

,, Oh, that reminds me..." Scarecrow zipped down his uniform top and pulled out some paper, which had been resting between his boiler suit and his white t-shirt.

,, I believe these are yours...?" he zipped the uniform back up as he handed them to her. Raven shot up in the chair, causing her skull to creak and she immediately leaned back down, hands cradling her head.

,, Ow...!"

,, That is how it works; the more you move, the more it will hurt. It's used to calm violent inmates. I'd advise you to relax and take deep, slow breaths." Raven was too drugged to remember how much she hated Scarecrow, so she leaned back and breathed in heavily, taking every bit of air around her and tasting it.

,, Who the Hell... makes... that kind of... crap?" oh, how he wanted to tell her _he _was to one who had designed the drug...! Maybe later.

He took her hand and pressed the letters into it, folding her fingers around the paper.

,, There we are. And no worries, I did not take the liberty and read them."

,, How did you know... they were... mine?"

,, Well, putting my doubt for our opponents' abilities to write aside..." Raven smiled at that, the drug was making her let her guards down.

,,... the handwriting is feminine, the letters have a certain... curve to it which makes them easy recognising as those of a woman's hand. The paper had been folded far too neatly for one of those violent cases.

Oh, and you signed them both 'Raven', so I figured it had something to do with you, since Raven is usually a woman's name." he made her smile again, what the Hell had been in that syringe?!

Raven tried to run a check list on her mind, finding out which pieces of her personality had been numbed by the drug. Apparently, all of the ones her teachers and parents had hated her for and tried to rid her off; the ones her friends and exes had loved the most. Pride, stubbornness, most of her wit, her sharp tongue.

Pride...

,, Scarecrow..." he lifted his head to show he was listening.

,,... not that this means anything... we're not bosom companions... or anything... like that..." she sat herself up and reached out her free hand.

,, But thank you... for helping me before... and... for giving me my... letters... back..." Scarecrow's hand, soft strong and warm, took Raven's and they shook slightly.

,, Now, since we are having this temporary truce, miss Scarrow, allow me to introduce myself; My name is Jonathan Crane and, if that can even be said, I bid you welcome to Arkham."

_Jonathan... Jonathan Crane... _Raven mentally tasted the name and gave a small nod.

,, Raven Scarrow... thank you for... the warm... welcome..." they released each others hands.

,, And... just so you know... I'm still fucking... pissed at you... for trying... to strangle... and to analyze... me...

... so... when I'm up and... about again... I still... hate you..." at that, Scarecrow- Birdbrain- Jonathan smiled coldly.

,, I wouldn't have it any other way, miss Scarrow." Raven tried to send him a cold glare, but her eyelids slid down again and she only faintly registered Crane's hands, helping her to lie down in the chair, before she slept and dreamed sedated dreams.

**As always, Reviews are highly valued and will help me writing the next chapter:) **

**Thank you for reading, creamcrackers:D**


	6. Chapter 6

Cagebird.

Raven had sometimes wondered about what Hell was; was it the classic fire and brimstone deal? Or was it like all murderers got one kind of punishment, rapists another? Or was it what you made it to, what you feared and hated the most? Well now she had the answer;

Arkham was Hell.

It had been a whole week since she had first been introduced to her cell and the rest of the building, and she had spent so many silent hours thinking over that one, little thing. That one painful little thought that had crept into her mind and refused to let go; could you go insane from being locked up in a nuthouse? Or was it just her?

Since she had gotten a little free sample of the asylum's anti-ADHD drug, she had kept quiet and no other fights had risen. Selina only talked to her when she felt like being entertained, Riddler could ask her stupid riddles she never answered, Scarecrow-Jonathan-Birdbrain-Crane sent her a trace of a smile from time to time, Joker ranted on and on and on and fucking on and made her wish she had a gun. The food was making her weak and sick and the scheduled day after day routine was making her skin crawl. Sometimes she thought of starting a fight, just to see something out of the... "ordinary" was such a fucking wrong word.

The Closed Dorm had two sets of activities; recess outside and the playroom. Getting a story read hadn't been a success, Billy had explained when Raven had given him the letters; Selina wanted the princesses in the stories to act on their own, Riddler only wanted to hear riddles read up to him, Joker wanted clown stories and Scarecrow... well, he wanted an assemblage of Gotham newspapers, wishing to know what moved outside. Raven couldn't blame him.

One day during "breakfast" Billy walked by Raven's seat and "dropped" a letter down on her lap.

,, Ooh," Joker snatched the envelope before Raven could do anything and when she tried to take it back from him, he slapped her hand away.

,, a little _l-l-l-love _letter?" he got up from the bench and waved the letter for the table to see, shoving Raven away every time she tried to snatch it back. Selina and Riddler grinned at the scene, Crane merely looked up from his "food". Joker turned the envelope and read the name of the sender aloud.

,, Susan Goldman.

Hang on, that's a _girl's _name!" his eyes lit up like two candles. He wrapped an arm around Raven's neck, locking her in a painful position and trying to wrench free.

,, You got a _love letter _from a _girl?!_" Raven bit her teeth together, trying to scratch Joker's arm to make him let go but it didn't work.

,, Well, I know what I'm gonna dream about tonight!" Joker wrenched her face closer to his.

,, Is she blond? _Please _tell me she's blond!"

,, Shut up and let me go." Raven spat. Joker waved the letter right in front of her nose, Raven grabbing for it as he lifted it out of her reach.

,, Are you the man in the relationship? Or have you an arrangement, like even and uneven dates?" Raven's neck began to hurt and she could state that Joker wasn't a big fan of deodorant. Joker's arm was like a boa constrictor, not that she had ever tried being strangled by one, and it was like being a small kitten and grabbed by the neck.

,, Joker... Let. Me. Go!"

,, What's her bra size? No, scratch that, what's your bra size?"

,, If I tell you, will you let me go? And give me the letter back?" Joker looked up at the ceiling, as if the answer could be read in the cracks of the plaster, and licked his lips (something he did annoyingly often.).

,, Uuh, okay." Raven closed her eyes, feeling how everyone at the table looked at her.

,, The letter first."

,, Ain't gonna happen toots." he waved the envelope just above Raven's head.

,, First, you have to spill about your lovely _girlfriend_." he sat back down, dragging Raven with him to the bench.

,, Where did ya' meet? _Is _she blond? You ever had a sleepover with a bunch of other girls? Ya' know, pillow fighting in your underwear, teaching each other how to kiss, talking about sex, all that? Playing 'spin the bottle'?"

,, She's straight." Raven looked at the other persons at the table.

,, So am I, if you're so fucking interested...!"

,, Aw, don't lie."

,, We've both had boyfriends."

_She was engaged at one point..._

,, She's my oldest friend, we kinda see each other like family. Nothing interesting there, now let go of me and give me that letter...!" she tried to tear loose by elbowing Joker in the ribs, but the guy was unaffected by pain.

,, Oldest? You met in school then? Oh, I know; you were a sweet little cheerleader and she was on the girls' football team. And then there was this one, golden night after a game and you were both alone in the shower..." Raven elbowed him again, however, this time she went for his groin and he let go off her to cradle his more private parts.

,, That has happened too often lately...!" Joker gasped as Raven snatched the letter, folded it and stuck it inside her uniform.

,, Well you should know about my boundaries by now." Raven slid gracefully back to her tray and ate the last scraps of paste. She chewed and smiled to herself, it felt good taking out some of her frustration on Joker.

*

Outside. Raven sat down in her little corner and looked at Gotham, just out of reach beyond Narrows and that stupid bridge. The air was cool and she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep a hold of that little amount of warmth her body managed to hold on its own. Just out there... Gotham... Freedom... Sex... Drinks... Junk food...

Raven sighed.

Sex...

,, So... Gorgeous view, right?" Joker slumped down beside her, wrapping his arms around his one leg and leaning back against the wall.

,, It is from here, anyway." he said and looked her up and down.

,, Go away."

,, Aw, it's good for you with a bit of company. Sitting here, all alone, it ain't healthy. You need to engage yourself more in the community, or else you'll fall behind."

,, I don't engage with crazies." she said and her eyes quickly scanned the yard.

,, And yet you're searching for your prince Charming."

,, No, just any idiot I can feed you to afterwards."

,, He ain't coming. I think the big revelation at breakfast broke the Scarecrow's little straw heart. It's like 'The Wizard of Oz'. No wait, that's a brain he hasn't got." why had Raven looked around? She didn't even know herself... Had she been looking for Crane? And, if that was the case, why?

,, That makes two of you." Raven said and huddled down in the corner, wishing so bad she didn't freeze.

,, So, what did your girlfriend write about? How much she misses you?"

,, She said she was happy I was hanging in there and hoped that I'd get transferred to another prison soon." Raven said simply.

,, You miss her much?"

,, Why should I even pretend that I care you pretend you care?" Joker sat silent for some time, comprehending what Raven had just said.

,, Well, because it's healthy gossiping from time to time."

,, Not for you. It's very unhealthy."

,, Ain't really much of a polite conversation girl, are ya'?"

,, Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a winner!"

,, Ooh, getting sarcastic are we?"

,, How about getting out of my sight?"

,, It's a free country."

,, Gotham's an owned city. Narrows isn't free at all.

And Arkham it defiantly not free."

,, That's a very bleak way to put it."

,, Well boo-hoo."

,, Speaking of which..." Joker tugged on a lock of Raven's hair, making her turn her head slightly.

,, Look who's decided to join our merry band." Crane got shoed out of the door in the wall, glaring shortly at the keepers before looking for a place to stay low.

,, Aw, look how sad he looks! Ya' know, this whole story has really worn him down." Joker leaned closer to Raven, playing best of friends again.

,, If you ask me, he needs a vacation."

,, What story?" Raven was curious, so se couldn't help herself asking the question.

,, Well, since he got signed up in Arkham, most of his keepers kinda pick on him. Ya' know, pecking order; the hunter becomes the prey, all that shit."

,, He used to work here?"

,, Honey, he _owned_ this place." Joker folded his hands and rested them behind his head.

,, And I'm not pullin' ya' leg or anythin', he really did own Arkham." Raven didn't know if he was lying and she didn't really care. Joker patted her shoulder and stood up.

,, Well, he's coming this way, so you can exchange your sweet talk amongst yourselves. Just tell me everythin' about it afterwards, honey." he said and walked away, raising his hand to greet Crane as they passed each other. Crane walked over and sat down, not invading Raven's personal space like Joker did.

,, No other place to be." he explained shortly. Raven gave something between a nod and a shrug and continued to look at Gotham thoughtfully.

,, How are you feeling?" Crane asked.

,, The words 'fuck off' doesn't really mean anything in crazy man's world, correct?"

,, Miss Scarrow, kindly correct me if I prove to be mistaken, but am I right if assuming that you have planned to break down every bond of communication with the outer world?"

,, I don't talk to crazies. They talk to me and I answer."

,, How very polite and politically correct of you." Raven went back to ignoring him, shuddering in the cold and wrapping her arms closer around herself.

,, You are freezing?"

,, Why do you care?"

,, Because I am interested in finding out if you are cold or you are having some sort of abstinence."

,, I've been here a fucking week and I hadn't had a drink in months; my whole life is a goddamn abstinence."

,, I am merely pointing out that people who try to run from their past often resort to alcohol or other means of relief."

,, And why should I run from my past? It's made me what I am."

,, It has locked you up in here."

,, When do you get it? I am not a mental case. The prisons are crammed and since Gotham is on the government's list of inbreeding projects, I wasn't allowed to leave for a jail out of this forsaken city."

,, So you say."

,, Do you think I'm staying here for fun? That I actually enjoy this?" Raven felt something sting in here eyes as the corpses of her drowned feelings bobbed up to the surface.

,, I fucking hate this place...! I hate being in the same hall as a bunch of crazies, I hate eating glue everyday and wondering if I'm going mad or not! I am so tired of all this and it's only been a goddamn week." her eyes were slightly red, but that could have been from the cold wind blowing into her face. She quickly looked away and huddled down into the corner, hating herself for spilling her feelings like that. She wanted to get out, but using Crane as an agony aunt wasn't going to help. Crane just sat quietly and watched her, crouching on the ground and examining the latest subject before him in silent interest. He would have loved to poke a bit around in her brain, finding out more about her. Partly, he would like to know what she exactly had done, getting locked up like a broken toy. Mostly, he wondered what she feared, what made her close her eyes and beg for it to go away. A simple thought, but the Scarrow-girl was a simple being. And he enjoyed playing with her, it was his little pastime diversion. He tried to remember the correct procedure for getting a patient to talk and gently moved slightly closer to Raven, not much but just enough to show he was there.

,, Miss Scarrow, it seems to me that you are fairly normal and sound of mind..." Raven's eyes darted back to Crane, burning with hate.

,, However, being locked up here isn't healthy. Not for you, nor for anybody else. I understand how you must feel at the time, but give it some weeks, a month or two and you will relax. In time, everything around you turns numb and you will forget where you are."

,, Crane... Fuck off."

,, I am humbly trying to comfort you."

,, Yeah, but the day I wake up in this place and I'm okay about it, I've grown to fucking pathetic for a real life outside." around the yard, keepers began collecting inmates, taking them back to their cells.

,, Just like you." she said and stood up. Crane twitched, wanting to snap Raven's neck as painfully as it could be allowed, but she walked past him and got shoved into the building along with the other nutbags. Crane got up and followed at a distance, watching how she got locked in her cell like the rest of them.

As Crane passed her plastic door, he stopped and looked at her, sitting on her bed and glaring back.

,, Agateophobia." he said and Raven's eyebrows furrowed.

,, The fear of going insane." Crane said in his soft voice before he got dragged along by a pair of guards.

Raven shuddered, then kicked off her shoes and crept under the thin sheets, her whole cell being so cold if not colder as the outside. She wrapped herself in the thin hospital cover and the sheets, trying to hold on to a small piece of her warmness and buried her face in the thin pillow. And, hating herself for it, Raven Scarrow began to cry shortly and soundless, biting the back of her hand to prevent her from sobbing.


	7. Chapter 7

Nightmare.

_,, Gordon, relax." Raven was literally staring down a gun barrel, but she just kept on walking._

_,, And what good would that do?"_

_,, And blowing our brains out is going to help?" she stopped just in front of Gordon, the rifle pointing straight at her chest. Not that she would notice if he shot, her lungs already felt like they were shut down._

_,, Yes!" he shouted._

_,, And then you die or get arrested. And then everyone are happy."_

_,, Raven... They know!" _

_,, So?"_

Raven was sitting and glaring down at her "food" as if it would solve her problems and clear a cell in another jail. She was beginning to feel weak every waken moment, something inside the walls of the asylum was breaking her will power. Maybe they doped the food? Put something in the water? The very poor sour air in the halls? No matter what it was, it made her loose her appetite.

She pushed the tray away, sitting with her useless fork in her right hand, before dropping that to the table. Joker had condemned her to sit opposite Crane at every meal, so he was the first to look up from his paste and looked at her, slight hint of a teasing smile playing in the corner of his mouth. But Joker was the first to speak, as always (which also had something to do with the fact that her never shut up.)

,, Ya' know, ya' should really eat yer food."

,, Since when did we become friends? I'm not hungry."

,, That may be what you think, but I can assure you the keepers see it in another light, miss Scarrow." Crane said and scraped the last bits of glue from his plate, eating them with the same enthusiasm as a man on the death row might do with his final meal, knowing that by the end of it he would die.

,, Scarecrow..." a passing guard said, Raven and Crane alike looking up. The keeper looked at Raven.

,, Why are you not eating?"

,, Because I'm not hungry." Raven shrugged.

,, And my name is Scarrow."

,, You not hungry?" the guy asked, as if it would be possible not to be drooling over this feast before her.

,, No."

,, Why?"

,, Because I'm not." Raven said and glared up at the keeper.

,, It's that simple." the guard looked at her for a few more seconds, then turned and walked away. Raven sniffed at him.

,, That wasn't the wisest thing to do, sugar plum." Joker said, leaning close to Raven but watching the keeper intently. The guard was now standing and talking to two other men, pointing back in Raven's direction.

,, What do you care?"

,, Well, it's a real bitch sitting at the same table as a person who gets her meal shoved down her throat."

,, Not to mention greatly annoying." Crane continued. Joker looked perplexed.

,, That's what I said." apparently, Crane wasn't that good with everyday slang. He tried to look unaffected but Raven couldn't help smile when she saw the smallest hint of a twitch of frustration in his blue eyes.

,, Oh, and here they come." Joker commented when the three keepers began walking back to the table where Raven sat. And then, something very weird and frustrating happened.

Four arms reached in over the table, each of them holding a fork. In quick turns, Joker, Riddler, Selina and even Crane scooped up a glob of Raven's "food" an they all ate their respective portion. When the keepers reached the table, they found Raven's plate empty and none of them noticed her baffled look. They glared at her for some time, as if she would spit the food out again, then they walked back to their respective corners of the cafeteria. Raven looked at the persons around the table.

,, What the Hell was that supposed to mean?" she hissed. Selina shrugged.

,, I was hungry." Riddler nodded to show he agreed with the cat lady.

,, Besides, you're far too good for force-feeding, bumblebee." Joker said and wrapped an arm around Raven's shoulders. Raven shoved him away and felt confusion and misery well up inside of her.

She didn't want them to help! She didn't want them to think they were friends! She wanted to be alone, not to think that she could actually make confidantes inside Arkham!

She looked at Crane who had returned to starring at the table, like it was the final chapter in a crime novel.

_Why did you help? _she wondered, but kept her mouth shut.

Across the table, Crane was pondering over the same thing;

_Why did I help?_

*

_Dear Raven._

_Good to know you're still hanging in there, but you have always done so I don't really see why that should change now._

_I can't wait till you get out, we got so much catching up to do. Oh, and I've met a guy! And not just any guy; his name is Ennio Felice and he's from Tuscany. He's an absolute angel and I can't wait for you to meet him. We've been dating for a few months, but I could only first tell you now, since you're allowed to send mail now. _

_Love you forever and can't wait till we see each other again,_

_Susan._

Raven was lying on her bed and reading the letter from Susan again, trying to read between the lines and detect... something. Sadness, pain, fear... all that.

She should be happy that Susan had found a steady date, but she had never met the guy. From her experience, he could be a jerk.

She folded the letter and tugged it back under her mattress, then turned over on her back and stared at the ceiling. Her droopy eyelids began growing heavy and she fell asleep, curled up in her cold cell on her cold bed with the cold sheets wrapped around her cold body.

_The lights of the hospital were painfully sharp and cut their way into Raven's eyes with an almost evil persistence. _

_When it had happened in real life, Raven had been too weak and drugged to move, but here she sat herself up perfectly fine. She was wearing the ugly kind of clothes she had been forced into that time, long ago, and her right wrist was still chained to the bed, just like last time. Her head felt heavy and her right side ached from the several stitches the surgeons had given her to close up the cut. _

_She began tugging at the handcuffs, as if she could break free simply by that and her brows furrowed. _

_Since when did her dreams grow as insanely much like her real life? Where was all the fun stuff?_

_A soft hand with strong slim fingers closed around Raven's aching wrist and a soft strong voice spoke, the owner of both stroking Raven's wrist soothingly._

_,, Well, miss Scarrow, I think you'll live to see another day." Crane said, smiling that stupid smile of his. He was wearing his Arkham uniform, as if he had ran away just to come and see Raven._

_,, Crane?" Raven asked, her voice not at all drowsed by drugs like when it had really happened._

_,, At your services." he grabbed a key from a pocket Raven never knew existed in the uniforms and held it up; it was the kind of small key to unlock handcuffs. _

_,, I take it this is what you are searching for?" Raven tried to snatch the key but Crane pulled it away, just like Joker had done with the letter, and he smiled wickedly-softly at her._

_,, I am afraid it is not going to be that simple." he sat down on the bed, Raven pulling as far away from him as the cuffs allowed her to. He placed one hand on the other side of her and leaned closer to her face._

_,, What do you want?" Raven asked, even though she didn't know if she actually spoke the words or she simply thought it. It was her dream, and now it felt like on of those conscious ones. And she didn't like it. She was locked in one of the worst days of her life, added one crazy from Arkham Asylum and she was chained down in a most uncomfortable position, with Crane's blue eyes penetrating her mind. _

_,, I think you know." he murmured and closed his eyes, tilting his head slightly. It was a dream, it was Raven's dream, so she knew what to do, her body moved where her mind stopped. Crane's soft lips brushed against hers, the feeling of his skin on Raven's felt almost _real. _He ran his nose up in a line from her lips to her forehead, sending small warm shivers down Raven's cold spine. He moved back down, his beautiful, slightly feminine, eyelashes butterfly kissing her cheeks._

_,, Raven..." he whispered huskily as he moved down and buried his face in the crook of her neck, Raven feeling herself being pushed further down the uncomfortable bed, her right wrist still hurting from that stupid cuff. His hands moved down to her waist, holding her so tight it hurt, as if she could break free if he didn't hold her in place. Raven whimpered when Crane's slim fingers dug into her stitches, making her squirm under the painful touch. Crane's lips were still settled on her neck, giving Raven a clear view down to her right side, where she was bleeding through her hospital dress, Crane's fingers forcing the wound more and more open. And then, it weren't her hospital clothes but the clothed she had been wearing that day; her black shirt with the flowing sleeves gathered at the cuffs and her black pinstriped trousers. There was a clean cut in the shirt where the knife had went through, and Raven saw nothing but red when Crane's fingers wrapped around the suture and pulled in from her flesh, making her eyes sting with tears that shouldn't have been there. _

_,, ... stop...!" she whimpered, the strange mix of pain from his hands and tenderness from his lips throwing her out of balance. Crane pulled back, his cold eyes burning madly at her, like they had that time in the playroom. Raven tried to strike out with her left hand, but her grabbed her by the wrist, holding it so tight Raven could feel it. He grinned at her, madly and cold, fingers forcing her cut to spilt and grow bigger, tearing through her flesh with only the wish to make her hurt..._

Raven shot up in the bed, still feeling the wound ache in her memory. She was breaking cold sweat and her sheets felt clammy, but she wished she would feel just a tad of warmth. Her cell was still cold as a grave. She quickly got out of bed, one of the sheets still wrapped around her shuddering body, pacing back and forth in the room to get her blood flowing and get some warmth. Her heart was pounding in her chest, making it feel like Crane was still trying to strangle her. Her feet were bare and quickly grew numb against the cold concrete floor.

_Justadream-justadream-justadream-justadream-justadream-just-a-dream..._

Her mind tossed the mantra back and forth, as she had been doing when she was a child and had dreams about the Big Bad Wolf, the Thing Under The Bed or the Monster In The Closet.

She let go of the papery sheet and it fell to the floor, then grabbed the trim of her top and pulled it up, looking down to confirm what her mind was trying to convince her was true; nothing had happened, the scar was still there, no sign of fading or changing. She felt ice penetrate her spine when she realised she could not tell which part of the dream had been worst; the part where Crane had tried to turn her inside out, or the part where he had...

Raven shuddered again at the thought.

... kissed her.

Why had she only told him to stop when he was hurting her? It didn't seem right.

,, Fuck..." she breathed and began walking around her cell again, trying to calm herself. She blew at her fingers and wrung her hands, wondering if she would be able to see her own breath if she stood still for a second? When the floor grew too cold for her feet, she pulled on her socks and paced from corner to corner again, convincing herself that dreams are just images, not something be taken...

_,, What do you want?"_

_,, I think you know."_

... seriously. Maybe there really was something in the air? Chemicals from the laboratory? Or was she just being paranoid?

_Paranoia is a sign of schizophrenia. _Raven stopped dead in her tracks. It had been her thought but it had sounded like something ScareCrane would have said.

_Great, now I'm going unhinged!_

She sat down in a corner and pulled the sheet from the floor around her again, looking like a small ghost, and bit her lower lip. She hated those kinds of dreams! The ones where you had to convince yourself afterwards that it was only pictures in her head.

Now she really had to keep away from Crane.  
She felt the blood rush in her cheeks, a mix of rage and embarrassment.

Could she ever look at him again without blushing? And Mr. Analyze Everything Which Stands Still Long Enough would notice her blushing and make up his own little theories. Or, even worse...

Raven felt the cold sweat again, making her freeze even more.

... he would _know_ exactly why she kept away from him…!

**Yes, I know; Arkham is getting pretty boring for me as well. And that is why, in the next chapter, a little breakout is going to occur! ;J**


	8. Chapter 8

Doctor's prescription.

_There is no great genius without some touch of madness._

Seneca.

,, Miss Scarrow, you seem slightly pale. Is something the matter?"

_Why, WHY, oh _WHY _did he have to notice? _

,, No, I'm just peachy, Crane." "dinner"time at Arkham, lukewarm paste and sour water. Raven only nibbled at the glue, feeling it gather in her stomach in a sticky ball. She was watching her fork intensely but she could still feel Crane's cold eyes boring their way into her head, watching her carefully.

Something had changed with the Scarrow girl. She had always been hostile but now... she seemed altered. Jonathan Crane licked his lips.

_Good. _it had begun to grow boring to watch her, now some new elements were added to the mix.

,, Still keeping your chin up and refusing to give in to the numbness or Arkham?"

,, What do you care?"

,, I am merely applauding your persistence. Not many people in here are so stubborn."

,, In case you haven't noticed, Birdbrain, I'm not like the rest of you. I don't belong here."

,, Everyone belongs here, dahling." Joker said. Raven tightened the grip around her fork. She really didn't need Scarface to join in, Birdbrain was more than enough!

,, I am truly sorry to say but it would seem like our disarranged sociopath has a point." Crane said, holding his fork like an indicator to a chart of Joker's words, waving it elegantly as he talked.

,, Everyone has a small amount of madness in them; if not, how would they know they were sane?"

,, And a madman is simply a person who is still sane but just chooses the wrong paths in his mind?" Raven asked, happy to find out she could look at ScareCrane without giving away her nightmare.

,, This sound like a philosophic discussion, miss Scarrow; it's good to know you can move up to a level where a discussion is actually more interesting than a fistfight." Raven was about to punch him, but restrained herself. It would just prove him right.

,, And yes, that is an interesting way to put it. And, as you see around you, there are different types of madness."

,, And you are one of the superior ones, right?" Raven's sarcasm could be cut with a knife. Crane smiled.

,, Yes, if you say so."

,, Then what if I said you were one of the lowest forms of crazy?"

,, Then I would say you are talking to yourself and you might want to consult a doctor."

,, She's talking to ya', Scarycrow." Pennywise said.

,, Aren't you one of those doctor-thingies?" Crane glared back. Raven raised an eyebrow; had Crane been a doctor? Sure, he had been checking if she had any broken bones, but he had also been trying to analyze her... Maybe he had more than one PhD? Or maybe Joker was just making fun of Birdbrain, like he did with everybody around him.

,, To return to the matter on which this conversation started; you do look awfully ill miss Scarrow. You are perfectly sure you are not allergic to anything?"

,, Come to think about it, I'm allergic to asylums. Can the clever boo-boo fixer help me with that?" Raven asked in a childish voice and fluttered her eyelashes at Crane, who gave her a cool stare in return.

_If you only knew that I am going to treat myself for that this very evening. _

He looked at Raven, who took small bites of her dinner, looking gloomy and ill.

_And I think, miss Scarrow, that I have just included you in my plans._

*

Midnight. The ghost hour.

Jonathan Crane stood awaiting by the door of his bare cell, waiting for a patrolling keeper to walk by. When he heard the footsteps echo down the silent hall, he straightened slightly up. A torchlight beam moved over the wall opposite him, showing miss Kyle sleeping soundly in her bed, before it moved back and shone Crane straight in the eyes. He lifted a hand to shield for the light, squinting and trying to look at the guard behind the torch.

,, Scarecrow, why are you up?" the man asked.

,, Well, would like to go back to sleep, but I am in need of using the facilities." he said. The guard sighed and pushed the button and Crane's door swooshed open. The keeper walked in, glaring suspiciously at Crane, pulling out a pair of handcuffs. Crane held his arms out and let the guard cuff him without a sound. It was all a part of the plan.

,, Right, begin walking." the guard ordered and Crane walked out of his cell, the keeper walking just behind him. The toilets were down the hall, but Crane stopped midway and held his chained hands up in front of his face.

,, What's wrong?" the guard asked and walked up in front of Crane, who in same second sneezed. Before the guard could even react, Crane uppercut him with his gathered hands and he fell backwards to the floor, unconscious.

,, My, what a bother." he muttered and knelt down, roaming the pockets of the man until he found the keys. He unlocked his cuffs and then began examining the unconscious man. He was far away, it would be hours before he woke up. Crane grabbed him by the shoulders and dragged him back into his empty cell, then closed the door and walked down the hall.

Belongings first, miss Scarrow later.

*

After a change of clothes and a little refilling of his... shall we say medicine? Crane snug back down the hall to miss Scarrow's cell. He pressed the button in the wall and the door opened, Crane sneaking in and using the moonlight to see as clear as day. His blue eyes shone through the holes in the burlap mask, looking very out of place against his custom made suit. It was nice being back in some tailored clothes, some which actually fit.

Miss Scarrow was sleeping like a baby, wrapped in every sheet her bed possessed. She was curled up like a sleeping kitten, looking slightly tranquil, with her burning eyes shut and her venomous tongue locked away behind her pale roseate lips. Crane walked closer to the sleeping figure, his head titled slightly like a bird's, curious eyes watching her through the grim features of his mask.

,, The Sandman comes on tiptoe,

Will through the window peep,

And look at the little children..." he murmured as he leaned down over Raven, his voice cool and smooth as always. He lifted his left hand and held it just above her body, moving if from her head to her toes, sensing the warmth from her frame.

,, Mmm..." Scarecrow heard himself utter; being as skinny as he, he had gotten used to feeling cold most of the time in the icy cells of Arkham, where only the simpleminded killers fattened from their good live never froze. The natural heat from the Scarrow girl's body felt wonderfully unusual to him.

,,... Who ought to be asleep." he leaned further down and whispered that in her ear, Scarrow huddling further down and muttered like she was having a bad dream. Crane pulled his head back, making sure he didn't accidently woke her by letting the material of his mask touching her soft cheek. His hand moved back up and gingerly took the trim of the cover with his slim fingers and lifted it up, pulling it off her slowly.

,, And when a sleepless child he spies,

Throws sand into its eyes." When he had pulled it completely off, he dropped it to the floor; miss Scarrow was now lying with the insignificant sheets as her only means of warmth and in this cold cell, it wouldn't take long...

Crane snug back out of the cell, enveloped himself in the shadows and waited.

25 minutes till the next keeper arrived.

,, Lullaby, lullaby, O sleep, my darling child."

*

Raven shuddered in the cold and grabbed after her cover in her groggy sleep, eyes welded shut. It was nowhere to be found so she sighed and opened her eyes; moonshine coloured the room and her cover was lying ever so annoyingly neatly on the floor, a mass of white in the grey. She sighed, she must have been moving in her sleep, even though she didn't recall dreaming about anything unpleasant. ScareCrane had luckily been a one-time thing. She swung her legs out over the side of the bed, her feet touching the cold floor carefully, even though she had been wearing her socks to bed. She was also wearing her top under her uniform, Arkham was simply too cold. She reached down for the cover, but then stopped; her door was open... she sat still for some time, as if to check it wasn't a dream and it wasn't a joke. No, it was still open...

Raven got up and pulled on her shoes, the tips of them still coloured slightly red from their connection with the guy in the canteen's teeth. She slowly walked to the open door, just waiting for it to slam shut. It didn't.

She peeked out into the silent corridor, wondering what the hell to do know? She could run, she could flee from Arkham. But if she got caught, she would most likely get her sentence prolonged for trying to escape.

_3 minutes miss Scarrow, I'm disappointed._

Raven looked to her left, then her right but there was no one there. She took another step.

Someone walked up behind Raven and quickly wrapped and arm around her body, pinning her arms to her sides. Raven tried to utter some sound of surprise, but a hand was pressed down over her mouth, making speech impossible. She began wringing and fighting, feeling herself being pressed against her attacker, but it was no use. She let out a muffled sound, making whoever was holding her press down harder on her mouth.

,, Miss Scarrow you seem like a fairly intelligent lady, I have to admit, but either you silence yourself or I will be forced to wring your cervix like a straw." a smooth voice murmured in her ear.

_Crane? Aw, just great...! _something rough and itchy, a kind of fabric, touched Raven's neck as Crane leaned closer to her ear.

,, Good girl." he approved as Raven didn't speak, using all her strength on trying to wriggle free.

,, Now stop that." he ordered and tightened his grip around her body. Raven tried to knock her head back into his, but he saw it coming and pulled quickly away.

,, Tut-tut, getting violent again are we?" he asked, sounding like every annoying doctor she had ever met.

,, Either you walk now or you'll be dragged later." he proposed and forced her forward. Somehow, he got Raven down the hall, passing the cells with sleeping crazies silently. Down by the door that led further into Arkham, down to where the exits were, Crane stopped and pulled her into a corner.

,, Now I believe it would be time for a little decoy for our flight." he said, his voice sounding muffled, like he was talking through something. He loosened his grip over her mouth, Raven gasping for a fresh breath of air, and knocked a fist into the fire alarm in the wall. An alarm bell began ringing and all sprinklers started in the ceiling, Crane and Raven standing just out of the water's reach, even though their shoes got wet. The doors to all the cells opened automatically and a drenched trio of criminals stumbled out, Selina looking very uncomfortable in all the water, Riddler looking like he was going to ask 'what's happening?' any second and Joker looking amused and angry at the same time.

,, And now we leave." Crane said and dragged Raven backwards out through the door leading down to the outside. Raven tried to bite down in Crane's hand, but he somehow dodged her teeth. The alarm rung through Arkham, crazies everywhere screaming when they got soaked or when their sensitive ears got pierced by the constant ringing. Raven tried with every mean possible to fight free, but Crane's arm around her body was only bending her ribs harder with every twist she made. Panicking keepers ran around like headless chickens but Crane moved smoothly through the shadows and they weren't caught. The sound of sirens mixed with the alarm, and since the keepers seemed smart enough, Raven could gather they were police sirens.

,, Well, well Gotham's finest have grown faster." Crane stopped at a window and looked down and the growing gathering of police cars in the courtyard of the asylum.

,, And that is where I am in need of your talents as a weak and feeble woman, miss Scarrow." he wrenched her down the hall and into an empty dorm, the sprinklers over their heads stopping slowly.

,, However, we need a touch of situation on your face." he let go of her face again, Raven breathing deeply in to try and compensate for all the air she had been robbed off the last minutes. Crane's wrist got held up in front of her face, and then... A sound like when an almost empty aerosol can got pressed to the limit and Raven's vision got temporarily blurred when a form of gas got sprayed from Crane's cuff in a small dose. Raven began to cough from the bitter tang in her lungs.

,, Good, breathe in slowly." Crane said and stroked a couple of stray locks of dark hair away from her face, as if they were an obstacle in her breathing in of the foul stuff. Her head began to spin, ten times the dizzy feeling from the syringe she had been given. She collapsed when her knees caved but Crane just dragged her along like nothing had happened.

,, I only gave you a small dose, you should be fine. However, at any sight of struggle I won't hesitate to show you the true meaning of fear." they were almost at the main exit, Raven fighting to make her feet walk by themselves.

,, When this is over, I will find some nice place in Narrows to leave you, and then we can only hope you meet some friendly beings." Crane's voice sounded even further away now. The double doors of the main entrance were slightly open and Crane slid gracefully out through the gap, dragging Raven to her unsteady feet.

,, Gentlemen," Crane greeted to the gathering of policemen in the courtyard, many, many, far too many guns pointing at the two figures in the door. Everything was slightly blurry to Raven, but she could pick out men in uniforms and cars with red and blue lights on the roofs quite easily. Some noises around her were muffled, others echoed through her skull and made her cringe.

,, how wonderful to see that you have decided to join this little amusement." Crane took a few steps down the small stair, Raven stumbling after and all the guns pointing at them.

,, Sergeant Gordon, paying sick calls are we?" Crane said to a man, standing and watching the escapees with a serious look to his face, which wasn't that strange again. He wasn't wearing a uniform like the rest of the cops, but he looked important, Raven forcing her eyes open and trying to break free from the iron arm around her body.

,, Oh how rude I am;" Crane wrenched Raven up so she was standing just in front of him.

,, this is an acquaintance of mine, Raven Scarrow, a part of a little 'fish out of water' project." he moved the hand on her mouth and ran it down and placed it around her neck.

,, So if you are having an inner battle with whether to shoot a mentally disadvantaged crazy or not, I can now tell you that this one is meant for an actual prison, but since there's a shortage of room..." he took another step, holding Raven so her neck was perfectly visible and his masked face got partly covered in her hair.

,, Well, I suppose you get the drift." he tightened his grip around Raven's neck and Raven let out a small sound, a mix of frustration and discomfort. When her head cleared, Crane was up for an ass-kicking of a lifetime.

,, Shoot if you wish."

,, Hold your fire." the man Crane had called sergeant said, looking intensely at Raven as if that would get her free.

,, If we let you off, will you let her go?" the sergeant asked. Crane chuckled and rested his face on Raven's shoulder, his whole body shaking with laughter concealed.

_Crazy. _Raven decided, if a point of her had ever been in doubt.

,, Oh yes, of course! You get her and then the Bat-man will surely appear and then the tables will have turned to your advantage." another step, Raven wriggling her left arm free and trying to bash in Crane's face which was hard since she couldn't see him. Crane eluded the blow and grabbed Raven's arm once more, taking the last step and now standing on the ground.

,, When I believe it is safe for me to do so, I shall let her go and then you can collect her." he said, then pressed his lips to her ear, whatever rough material he was wearing making Raven itch.

,, Try that again and they will be _collecting _you!" he hissed. He began walking along the line of cops, not wanting to be surprised by a bullet in the back, forcing Raven along.

,, Don't worry kid, he won't lay a finger on you." the sergeant Gordon tried to comfort Raven with, but all he got from that was a mean stare from her.

_Too fucking late, I'm not standing near him voluntarily!_

,, A knife maybe but never a finger...!" Crane said and pulled Raven closer to the gates of Arkham.

,, If you follow, you kill her." ScareCrane announced and slipped out of the gates, the cops standing and watching him go, rage and powerlessness burning them up.

,, So far, so good. I must say, you are far more pleasant company when intoxicated, miss Scarrow. So much more... mellow."

,, Go... to hell." Raven spat as she was dragged along down to Narrows. Scarecrow's grip around her neck tightened.

,, Gullible girl, where do you think I was born?" Raven began squirming again, she really didn't like being this close to a mental case. Especially not Crane.

Something like a car engine roared through the streets, the sound of it making Raven soot in the air and fight to cover her now sensitive ears.

,, Well, fashionably late as always." Crane muttered, more to himself than to his unwilling companion. A huge car, one Raven had seen caught on snapshots in papers and on TV, raced down through the narrow streets of... Narrows, Crane forcing Raven up against the side of a building and glaring at the vehicle.

,, Best we set the mood for a memorable impression, hmn?" the arm around her body began tightening, forcing the air from Raven. Then another aerosol sound and more of the tangy mist, at the same second Crane loosened the pressure on Raven's ribs and she breathed deeply in. She began coughing again, more violently this time, feeling herself being held up by Crane.

And then, Hell broke loose.

Raven titled her head back and looked at Narrows, but it wasn't the Narrows she had seen second ago. The angles were crazy, all the buildings looking like towering giants, every dim streetlight was now the eyes of monsters. From a twisted image of where the car had stopped rose a figure, a vampire and flew towards the fugitives, a mass of darkness being its wings.

,, Ah ah ah." a voice growled, sounding vaguely like a memory of Crane, who waved a finger at the monster.

,, We're playing by my rules today." he held Raven up in front of him, twisting her neck to the point where Raven thought it was going to snap. Right now, Raven was glad her back was turned to Crane; if his voice sounded like something from a nightmare, then how the hell did he _look?_

,, What do you want?" the monster growled, Raven shaking like a leaf. Then she felt something sting and looked down her right side; her uniform was red. All other sounds, the talk between Crane and the monster silenced. All she could hear was her own heart and her heavy breathing.

,, I'm...bleeding." she forced a powerless arm down to where her uniform was drenched and touched the spot; the cringed and hissed.

But, it should be impossible, her stitches had been removed months ago she should have been... healed. The most of the right side of her side of her body was now covered in blood. Then panic took over; she was bleeding! Last time, she hadn't been able to stop it soon enough. She fought her arms free of Crane's grip and pressed her hands firmly to the spot, but all it did was making the blood flow faster.

_No, no, no, no, no, no, no! _Not again. Please God, not again.

Her heartbeat thundered through her mind, echoing in every nerve in her body, she was cold sweating and shaking violently, her breathing grew heavy. She only faintly registered Crane's hand in her hair, pulling her head up.

,, Could you really kill another innocent? Another woman who you have failed to save, even though you could?" Crane's growling voice said, the tone changing word for word. Raven looked at the monster, black skin, black eyes, black teeth. She sniffed, she couldn't remember the last time she had been so scared. Why the hell didn't Crane understand that he needed to let her go?! She needed a doctor, some help, something! She felt something move where her wound was, where the blood was darkest and looked down; something was moving, squirming under her uniform. As she watched the fabric of the uniform tore open and fat, shining beetles oozed out.

_Shit! _every beetle was black as the creature in front of her, with small shining black eyes. Raven tried desperately to scoop the insects away from her, their teeth

_did beetles have teeth?_

digging into her fingers when she touched them. She began to curse and whimper, every time she flickered one beetle away, ten new crawled out from her cut, covered in sticky blood. She was torn between holding the wound closed and getting the beetles out of it. She began clawing at the hole in her uniform, trying to tear every beetle free. Her nails began to hurt, but she didn't give a damn, she had more important things to think about.

In real life, she was breaking her nails when they cut through her uniform and the top. Crane smiled at the sight and had to suppress an urge to laugh when the Scarrow girl screamed in fear and frustration.

,, Wonder how long she has back before she is in dire need of a straitjacket?" he asked and grabbed the panicking Raven by the collar, lifting her to her feet and snickering when he saw how she was clawing her own side open, whimpering and not knowing she was causing the pain.

Raven didn't really need to get picked up now, she was _busy! _Standing up, she could hear how the beetles clattered when they fell from her cut and hit the concrete, her hands sweeping them away in quick movements. And now she was choking, Crane wasn't helping on her hyperventilating! Her brows furrowed and she whimpered again, then bit her teeth together. Crane was concentrating on the creature, he wouldn't notice. With all her willpower, she clenched her fist and crunched the beetles in her palm and closed her eyes. Then she turned and swung a punch where she hoped Crane's face was and her knuckles connected with the rough material he was having over his face. She felt his grip loosened and heard him stumble to the ground, then she fell to her knees herself and began clawing at the beetles. She screamed and growled at the same time, why the hell wasn't it working?!

Then she was grabbed by the arm and found herself facing the vampyric creature. She fell backwards and would have landed on the unconscious Crane if the monster hadn't lifted her off the ground and pulled her closer. She began kicking and hitting the nightmare, but it was like hitting a wall.

,, Relax." the thing ordered and Raven felt something penetrate her arm, she had felt that before. A syringe. She cursed when she tripped and knocked her forehead against the chest of the monster.

,, Relax, I got you. I got you." the thing comforted and helped the drowsy Raven sit down, helping her rest her head on the concrete.

,, You just took out Scarecrow." the thing said, Raven's vision turning clearer and Narrows around her turning back to its normal, cold self.

,, He gassed me so he fucking had it coming." a gloved hand patted Raven on the forehead as distant sirens approached.

Bruce Wayne still had a signal to call the police.

Around Raven, the night turned darker and sounds turned vague. The last thing she heard were people calling for doctors, feet running around and a voice which sounded like the sergeant calling for a an ambulance and talking about 'blood loss' and something soft, like a pillow, being placed under her head. Then she was knocked into oblivion.

**Gee, long chapter... Sorry, I just kept on writing and I thought this would be a good place to stop. **

**Already writing the next chapter:D Reviews are treasured:)**


	9. Chapter 9

Unwilling alliance.

_,, Raven get down or I'll..."_

_,, Shoot?" she took another step and reached out and placed a hand on Gordon's arm._

_,, Gordon, so what if they know? I'm here. Susan's here. Were you going to kill us as well? You told us first so it only makes sense to kill us first." _

_,, But... you weren't supposed to be here!" _

_,, Gordon, listen; I don't know who you've been talking to, but I won't ever laugh at you, okay? I won't ever make fun of you, we're best friends for fucks sake!" Gordon was shaking and the rifles were lowered slightly._

_,, And..." oh great, time to talk about feelings._

_,,... I love you. You're my best and my oldest friend. And if they know, so what? They're the freaks, not you." super, now she was beginning to cry. The cruelty of the average high school jerk could bring anyone to tears._

_,, I mean, what about our trip this weekend? We were going to the city, and..." the guns were lowered more._

_,,... and I was going to show you that ice cream shop, right? And Susan talked about catching a movie..." then came a small shattering sound when a hole was shot in one of the windows in the class..._

Raven's eyes shot open and she tried to sit herself up, but failed. She didn't know where she were, but the word 'Arkham' seeped into mind; she had been strapped to the bed. She fell back onto her back and sighed, closing her eyes and trying to relax.

,, 'morning pumpkin." a mousy voice greeted.

_No fucking way! _Raven carefully opened one eye and sighed.

,, Hi Rozetta." she groaned and opened her eyes.

,, Where am I?"

,, Well you're in the infirmary, darling. Your nails were such an awful state when they brought you in, I hardly knew what to say." Raven looked down at her fingers; ten out of ten had been wrapped in gauze and her tips were bandaged. She was wearing a clean uniform and when she moved, she could feel bandages around her side where the beetles had been crawling... Had there been any beetles?

When she got a hold of Crane...!

,, What's happened?"

,, Well, the police brought you and Jonny back here after that awful breakdown in the alarm system."

_I was there. Fool yourself all you want, Rozy._

,, You were pretty messed up so I thought it best to bring you up here for some treatment."

,, And Jonny is...?" Raven already knew the answer.

,, Well Jonathan, honey. He only woke up a small hour ago, he was really knocked of his feet."

_You just wait till I get him...!_

,, Why am I strapped down?"

,, Standard treatment for all the patients, pumpkin." Raven began moving in the bed, testing if she could slip out of the straps.

,, What time is it?" Rozetta looked at her Mickey Mouse watch.

,, It's almost dinnertime, you've been sleeping all day."

_Great. _

,, Can I go back to my cell now? I'm feeling much better, I don't need being here anymore."

_Lesser of two evils, I actually want to go back to that rathole._

,, Sure, we just need to find someone to help you back." Rozetta said and began loosening the strap around Raven's ankle. Raven closed her eyes, it was too deeply humiliating...! Arkham was designed for breaking one's spirits. When she was freed of the straps, she sat back up and stretched madly, as if it would shake the memories of last night off. The room was huge and white, like the rest of Arkham, with hospital green covers on some of the beds and strapped down inmates on others. Ravens eyes grew when she recognised the guy from the canteen, the one she had been kicking the crap out of, lying on the bed opposite her and looking pale when his eyes caught hers. Several of his teeth looked like they had been clumsily mended and some were missing all together. His nose looked like a work by Picasso. She couldn't resist the temptation and grinned wickedly at him, making him shudder and turn away. That only made her grin wider.

The halls of Arkham were clammier, colder and damper than ever before, the sprinklers had really done a good job on the plaster in the walls. When Raven was led into the closed dorm, she noticed something right away; Joker's cell was empty. Passing a silent Riddler and a dark eyed Selina, Raven began wondering if Joker was in therapy or had run off. Then she passed Crane's cell...

Jonathan Crane was sitting on his bed, looking tired and hungry and angry. He had a small bruise right between his eyes where Raven had hit him, about the size of a fingernail. When Raven walked by, holding her head high and looking proud as ever, Crane sent her a look of hate. His eyes burned so coldly at her that Raven involuntarily looked away, feeling like he was trying to freeze her solid to the ground. She quickly walked on.

Back in her own cell, she sat down on the mattress and sighed. Then she grew cold when she realised something; the sprinkler had gone off in her cell as well. Which meant her bed had been drenched. Which meant they had to replace the wet bedding... She grabbed her sheets and pulled them off the bed, rummaging under the mattress and the pillow, but it was no use; her notebook, her pencil and her letter were gone... She sat flat down on the floor, her legs sprawled awkwardly out in front of her, morose eyes starring blankly at her sneakers.

,,... fuck..."

*

Evening. Dinnertime.

Raven walked gloomily into the canteen, looking more at the floor than anything else. Although, when she looked up, she had to choke a triumphant laughter.

Selina and Riddler were both sitting at the table, looking like they were ready to burst with laughter as well; Jonathan Crane was sitting and looking like hell, his arms tied around his body in a straitjacket. Just beside him, Rozetta was sitting and hand feeding paste to him with a plastic spoon. You could smell the humiliation on Scarecrow, which only grew thicker when Raven sat down with a smirk like a clown Joker might design. At the sentence

,, Come on, Jonny, you need all your strength so you can grow big and strong." Riddler almost choked to death on his paste and Raven had to cover her face with her hair, her shoulders trembling with giggling. She hardly ate, it was just too priceless to be watching Crane sitting and being forced to play a seriously humiliating round of toot-toot train with Rozetta. When the final scraps of paste had been eaten, Rozetta got up and patted Crane on the head, approving on how well he had did, then gave him a motherly kiss on the cheek and left with the tray. Crane sat frozen and starred at the table, his cheeks red with mortification and Rozetta's lipstick on the left one. For five tense seconds nothing happened; then the bottled up laughter got to run free. Riddler laughed so loudly and madly it was amazing none of the keepers turned up, Selina rested her forehead against the table and hugged her ribs while she laughed like a schoolgirl, and Raven covered her mouth with one hand as she looked at Crane through squinting vision. Crane's shoulders began to rise and fall rapidly as he grew more and more angry, his breath coming in shallow moves through his nose.

After some time however, the laughter ceased and a deadly serious silence lay over the table. Selina rose from her seat beside Riddler and strode over to the other side of the bench, where Crane sat solemnly and glared at the table.

,, So little Jonny Scarecrow is too fucking good for helping out his pals when he decides to make a break for it?" she placed a hand on the small of his back, moving it up in a almost seductive manner. Her fingers moved smoothly up through his hair and she leaned closer to his ear, cooing softly in a purring voice. Crane grew redder and redder by the second, looking like he was going to snap if it hadn't been for the straitjacket and the keepers in the corners.

,, But I bet you hadn't expected to be here the next day?" she clenched her fist around his dark locks, making Crane twitch. Selina slammed his head down into the counter as if she was trying to imprint his features in the paint. She added extra pressure on his skull and Crane's eyes shot lightning.

,, You didn't really see it coming?" she asked as Crane squirmed in the uncomfortable position he was forced to endure. Then she tugged him backwards so he fell to the floor and she let go of his hair. He reminded Raven of some of the beetles she had scooped away last night; landing on their back and six legs sprawling to try and get back to their feet. Only here it was much harder doing so, since his arms were strapped to his body and couldn't be used for means of finding his balance again. Crane's blue eyes burned at Selina and Riddler, who had decided to join in and now sat on the bench right above him. Riddler's foot slammed against Crane's ribcage while Selina's knocked against his spine. Raven just sat and watched them as their kicking continued, eating her paste to the sight of a defenceless Crane being treated like he had been when he was a teenager. She sipped her lukewarm water slowly, never taking her eyes of the sight of the clearly enraged Scarecrow, fighting to get to his feet but always failing, stumbling back to the floor time and time again.

After some time, Selina titled Crane to his back and pressed her foot down into his ribs. Crane had never looked as enraged as he was now, squirming like a worm to get free.

,, I got freaking _soaked _last night and you didn't even have the decency to escape properly, oh no! Joker fucking ran off but you never even _left _the area!" she pushed all her weight down on Crane's lungs.

,, And who do you decide to drag along? Some little newcomer you've got the hots for!" had Crane had any air to spare, he would most likely have blurted out with some scientific doctor crap about how he and Raven were like dog and cat. But all he could do now was glower nefariously.

,, Kyle. Sit back down." a passing guard ordered. Selina looked at him like a tiger might do, then walked back to her corner of the table, leaving an infuriated Jonathan Crane behind. The keeper helped the humiliated Scarecrow to his feet, then left. Crane looked daggers at the three persons at the table, then paced madly to the door in the opposite end of the room. He never made it quite that far, since a inmate at the table just next to the one Raven sat at stretched his leg and tripped Crane, so he fell face down to the floor again. People around him laughed as he tried to get back up, but the guy who had tripped him, a man Jonathan Crane himself had locked up in Arkham some years ago, kicked him so he fell back down and sent him rolling around back to the table he had come from. His face was red and he was hissing through his teeth, looking like the 14-year-old guy he had once been. Raven raised her eyebrow in an innocent manner and smiled sweetly down at him.

,, Miss Scarrow, no doubt you would like to make yourself feel superior, just as everyone else, by swinging a punch at me?" she leaned down, still smiling.

,, You need help?" she asked as Crane wiggled around onto his stomach and tried to sit himself up. He didn't answer but he was clearly having trouble, so Raven slipped down from the bench and took Crane by the shoulders, helping him to sit up on his knees. She smiled superciliously at him and patted him on the head, smoothing out his ruffled hair.

,, And why are you doing this?" he asked when Raven took him by his fastened elbows and helped him to stand up completely. She began to dust off his shoulders like her and Crane were old pals.

,, Oh, you know..." she said.

,,... I just don't applaud people kicking other people when they're on the ground."

,, Either that or you are heavily drugged with something the dear Rozetta found in the infirmary." he said. Raven tittered sugary at that, making Crane uneasy. Something was up.

,, Jonny honey, we need to talk; I have to make something absolutely clear to you." Raven's fingers moved up and snug down the collar of the straitjacket.

,, And that is?" Raven's mild expression changed and she wrenched Crane closer and hissed darkly:

,, If you ever threaten med again; if you ever try to kidnap me again, or gas me like last night, I swear to the darkest pits of the most depraved human mind that I will scratch your eyes out, fry them in oil, and shove them your throat so you can watch your ribs break when I smash a shovel into them." she murmured sweetly before pulling away from him, still looking deadly serious. She was about to sit down again when she stopped and turned back to face Scarecrow.

,, Just a little pre-taste, so you know I ain't kidding..." she clenched her fist and slammed it full speed into his face, making his head knock backwards and sending him back to the floor again. Then Rozetta came racing and helped him back to his feet, comforting him sweetly and telling him it was okay falling. Crane didn't listen; he was too busy watching Raven on the bench, sitting and glaring right back at him, not flinching once.

*

Narrows in darkness.

Even in daylight, people preferred to move around swiftly and in groups, always looking nervously over their shoulders; at night-time, you'd have to be crazy for walking alone.

,, No, no, no. You don't get it." Joker said, waving his right arm wildly in gesticulation. His left arm was holding a huge sports bag up.

,, It's a matter of _principle!_" still walking through the scantly lid streets, Joker took two steps to the right kept on talking, but now showing he was talking for his nonexistent opponent. Some people talked to themselves; Joker made it seem like a one-man act.

,, So, ya' go through all this trouble, then ya' go back?" two steps to the left, still walking like it was a summer morning at the beach. Joker vs. Joker; always a nerve wrecking debate.

,, Yeah, but not like that. We just need to show ScaryCrow _how _a real break-out looks." with his purple suit, freshly coloured green hair and layer of facial paint, he looked beyond ordinarily creepy.

He licked his lips, two steps to the right again.

,, Why? He ain't gonna clap his hands or anythin' when we hit a homerun." two steps left.

,, I know, but this is more of a... Ya' know... Something with pride. Besides, we need to pay him back for not bringing us to his run off." he stopped dead for a moment, remembering last night where he had seen good ol' Scarecrow by the door, having an arm around the dainty little Raven.

,, I would make a much better hostage than _her_. I can cry on cue an' all." around the corner Arkham began appearing. You would never think a breakout had occurred less than 24 hours ago, it still looked as dismal as ever. He sighed as he reached the outer wall and began climbing up the small metal ladder, made for guards to walk around on the top of the wall. It was much easier breaking in than breaking out.

He put the bag down and zipped it open and pulled out an aluminium bat and something that looked like a homemade grenade. Which indeed was what it was.

,, And stadium goes quiet as Campanella is about to throw the first ball of the game." he said to himself. Then he threw the bomb into the air and hit it hard with the bat, making it fly across the courtyard and slam into the side of Arkham, detonating and blowing up a chunk of the wall. Joker looked down into the bag; 49 bombs left. Perfect.

Sniggering madly, he reached for another grenade...

*

An alarm set off somewhere, and if it hadn't been for Raven's recent experience with the alarms of Arkham, she would have thought it was the fire alarm.

In his cell, Jonathan Crane sat up in his bed and reached for his glasses, then remembered he didn't use them anymore, shook his head at his own habits, then swung his legs out over the side of his bed and stood up. Luckily his straitjacket was only to be worn outside his cell, so he was free to move as he wanted now, even though his head was still buzzing from the beating he had received at dinner.

Raven pulled her shoes on and stumbled out of the opening door, looking at the three other habitants of the corridor.

,, What's happening?" she asked. Selina shrugged.

,, Don't know, but it doesn't sound too good." four keepers walked in and each took their separate inmate under one arm and tried to lead them back through the door. Then the walls shook and the building rumbled; Selina wrung free of her guard, Riddler kicked his away, Raven simply tugged free and Crane knocked his up against the wall, making the guy faint when his head connected with the plaster. The other keepers rushed to grab Crane, nut he dodged their hands and ran down the hall, the other people of the dorm following. Another explosion somewhere, shaking the hall they were in so much Raven stumbled and landed flat on her hands and knees. She quickly got up and ran again, what if she actually could reach the exit? Would she run?

,, Down!" Selina shouted as something looking like a pipe came flying through the air. Pipe bomb. The four persons knelt down as the thing hurled past and detonated behind them. The air pressure from the small bomb made Riddler and Raven, the two persons falling slightly behind, stumble forward before they got back to their feet and ran. At the end off the hall Selina almost ran headfirst into Joker, who at the same time walked in, grinning madly.

,, Hiya, folks!" he greeted. In one hand was a stick of dynamite, the fuse sizzling dangerously close to detonation. He threw it and it rolled down the hall, exploding and sending all five of them scrambling into the next hall. Raven fell for the third time and landed on a body.

_Please don't be dead!_ she thought selfishly, she didn't like the idea of falling on a corpse. The person beneath her groaned, loud enough to be heard over Joker's cackling. Around her, Riddler and Selina got back to their feet; Joker was already up and running up the stairs to the floor above. The person underneath Raven moved and ran a slim hand through his dark hair. Crane. Raven skittered off him, helping him turn onto his back.

,, That did actually hurt." he said and sat up. He had a small cut in his left temple and he looked drowsy. Riddler and Selina ran off, but Raven didn't move, even though another explosion over their heads should have convinced her to do so. She just got to her feet, still watching Scarecrow on the floor. Crane touched the cut and looked at the blood on his fingertips.

,, No fractures." he stated. Then he tried to get up, but his brain had been shaken and he almost fell back down. Not knowing why she did it, Raven took the dizzy Crane by the arm and dragged him through the corridor, both of them stumbling on fallen bricks but not falling. Crane didn't protest when Raven ran down the way she had walked when she had been led from the courtyard to her cell, their feet echoing through the empty dorms. Most of Arkham had been evacuated by now.

The door to Rozetta's office was open, but Raven knew she couldn't have all the inmates' belongings in there, so she walked past to a door further down the hall, blown off its hinges. Inside the white room was locker standing on locker, with little nametags on each and every one of them. Raven let go of Crane, who immediately sat down and held his head in his hands, muttering things like

,, Strange..." and

,,... no brain damage..." Raven paced along the rows of grey lockers, her heart sitting in her throat. When she reached 'S' she began scanning the tags until she found

' Scarecrow, Raven' which she assumed was her. She opened the locker, why should anyone lock them, and grabbed her bag and clothes. She looked at Crane, but he was too busy finding out if he was hurt to notice, so she quickly pulled her top off and pulled her old t-shirt on. It had been washed and smelled like her uniform, but she didn't care. Kicking off her shoes and always keeping her eyes on Scarecrow, she pulled the uniform off completely and pulled her trousers on. She sat down and pulled on her old sneakers, then got up and began examining the other lockers. In the small compartment of a ' Selen, Mary-Lou' she found what appeared to be the loot of a robbery at a BDSM shop. A leather mask with a sipper, various chokers, handcuffs and other thing the miss Selen apparently found sexy were all lying neatly on the two shelves. Raven dug through the leather, chains and rubber until she found what she was looking for, there was no time to be picky. She pulled out the black PVC gloves and quickly pulled them on to hide her bandaged fingertips from the eyes of policemen and the general public. The fetish gloves reached up over her elbows and stopped around the middle part of her upper arms, making Raven feel uncomfortable; she had never been fond of tight clothes. She opened the next lockers and dug through them until she found a dark green ziphoodie. It fitted her perfectly and she zipped it quickly and pulled the hood up, making sure her distinguishable dark hair was well hidden. She grabbed her bag and ran past Crane, who was just staggering to his feet, still looking very groggy. She ran down the halls, reaching the small side entrance she had walked through on her first day in under ten minutes.

Out in the courtyard of Arkham Asylum For The Criminally Insane everything was _chaos._ All the basketcases of the building and been rounded up like cattle, standing and screaming or crying or starring at the situation. Keepers ran around and tried to calm them down, but it was hardly of any use. Several police cars and two firetrucks were fighting to get through to where needed. Raven jumped down the steps and almost knocked down a cop on her way to the exit.

,, What are you doing here, miss?" he asked and grabbed her arm. Raven didn't know what to say, she just looked at the man, making small stuttering sounds, trying to piece together words for an explanation.

,, This area is sealed off to the public, you need to go back there." he pointed to the main gates where curious faces stood and watched the scenario with cheap fascination.

,, Oh, yeah... Right, sorry, I think I lost my way there." Raven said and rapidly turned around and almost ran for the freedom. First she had to dart around bystanders, but the crowd eventually thinned and then she ran. Narrows felt deserted with all its inhabitants being up at Arkham, so Raven felt like she was running through a ghost town. At last she reached the bridge and only slowed down when she was on the other side of it. She stopped and looked back at Arkham, an orange glow appearing in some of the windows as something began catching on fire. Then she shook her head and walked deeper into Gotham City, clutching her bag in her gloved hands.

*

Half an hour later Raven reached a small apartment building, DDR chic concrete style, and unlocked the front door with a key in her bag. She was exhausted from all the running but she still managed to walked up all the stairs to the top floor, always looking over her shoulder to check if anyone was following. Maybe she was growing paranoid?

At the solitary door on the floor were a simple brass 20 and a small sign saying Raven Scarrow. Amazing no one had tried to break in. Raven unlocked this door with another key and stumbled into her old apartment. She shut she door and leaned against it, gasping for air and feeling how the sweat drenched her clothes. She dropped her bag on the floor and walked further in, unzipping the hoodie and throwing it on the sofa in her small living room. She almost stumbled to the kitchen, which was empty for all food except a packet of dry raisins and some coffee. Susan had cleared out to cupboards on Raven's demand. Raven walked to the sink and turned on the cold water and gulped five huge mouthfuls of it down, before she stuck her head under the cooling gush and sighed as the water drenched her hair and ran down her sweaty back. After four minutes standing like that, she turned the water off and realized she was still wearing those stupid gloves. She pulled them off and dropped them to the dusty counter, knowing it would be wisest to keep them. She wrung her hair and let the water fall to the floor, before she walked through the living room to her old bedroom. The bed had been made

_Susan. _

but apart from that it looked the same. Her old, framed poster with The Thames At Westminster was still hanging over her bed, making Raven feel right at home at the first glance. She pulled open her closet and stated happily that all her clothes were still there. She grabbed a pair of dark grey trousers, a snow white t-shirt and a fresh set of underwear. She also took out a huge dark blue knitted sweater and threw it on her bed. She buried her wet face in the fabric and sniffed in deeply; it was her clothes, washed with her washing powder. She opened the door to her bathroom and turned on the light, not knowing if it would start or not. For some unknown reason it did, bathing the white room in a weak light. Rave placed her clothes on the toilet and turned on the water in the small shower, kicking off her sneakers and throwing them back into her room before closing the door by habit. She actually felt safe, it would take them some time finding out who'd gone missing at Arkham and then finding out where she lived. She had three days at a maximum.

She pulled off her t-shirt and trousers, kicking them in a corner of the small room, then looked at herself in the mirror. Her body around her waist had been wrapped in bandage. She loosened it, along with the weakening bandage on her fingers, and let it fall to the floor, running a hand over the several small cuts her nails had made. Noting serious, most of the scratches weren't even near 'serious'. It must have been whatever it was Crane had gassed her with that had made her heart beat so fast she could actually lose blood from the small cuts. Then she traced a finger along an old scar in her side, remembering every painful little stitch. Then the mirror began turning blurry as water from the shower condensed on its surface. Raven pulled her underwear off and stepped in under the warm water, relishing in the feeling of it against her sweating skin. She was washing Arkham off. She had no soap but she was washing off the air and being of the asylum.

Running her hands through her hair, she opened her eyes and sighed; the only showers she had been able to have on Arkham were ice cold and she had been forced to stand in front a long mirror, where several keepers could sit behind and watch the inmates as they washed up, jerking off to the sight most likely. And it still felt like someone was watching her, no matter what she couldn't wash that feeling off. How long would she feel like that? She turned off the water and stepped out of the shower and dried herself with a small towel, then pulled on her fresh clothes. Then she felt sour bile gather in her mouth, the thoughts of her running and her exhaustion made her head spin. She leaned on the sink and coughed up some stomach acid, then drank some water and rinsed her mouth from the taste. She needed to sleep.

But as she looked up again, she almost choked on something. Behind her, mirrored in the looking glass, was a creature from her nightmares. It was wearing a dark blue suit, neatly tailored, with a white shirt underneath and a blue tie. In itself, that wasn't scary at all, but the thing was wearing a sort of mask, made of burlap with two little holes for eyes and a stitched up mouth. A gallows noose was dangling around its neck. Raven tried to scream but the thing grabbed her and pressed a hand down on her mouth and pinned her arms to her sides. She screamed and wrung to get free, but the creature lifted her from the ground and dragged her backwards into the bedroom. She tried to fight free but the thing only let go off her when it threw her down on the bed, towering over her like a monster from a childhood tale.

When Raven had been a child, not older than ten, she had heard or read somewhere about two women who had been kidnapped and tortured by a nameless man. One of them had been raped and her nipples had been gnawed off; the other one had been killed then her corpse had been raped and treated like the first. Maybe it was just an urban legend, but ever since that day she had always wondered. When she had walked home alone through dark streets and seen shadows she had mistaken for persons, she had wondered which of the women she might be, and which she would prefer to be.

Looking at the thing in front of her, the same thought ran through her head again. She pulled away from the thing and slid her hand in under her pillow, fumbling for the telescope rod she kept hidden under it. In a short flash of a second, she feared that Susan might have moved it, but then her fingers closed around the cold iron and she felt her spirits rise, even though she had hoped she was through with maniacs. Then the creature started to laugh. Not a crazy man's laughter, a soft and almost kind laughter. Its hands moved up to the burlap mask and began pulling it off.

,, I am sorry..." oh God, she knew that voice.

,,... But I simply couldn't help myself." Crane said and pulled the mask completely off, smiling kindly at her. Raven felt blood rush to her cheeks and she grabbed the pillow and flung it at Crane in rage.

,, Crane, you fucking idiot, you scared the hell out of me!" she said and couldn't help feeling embarrassed. Crane picked the pillow up and handed it back to her, Raven snatching it from him and throwing it on the bed.

,, What the hell are you doing here anyway?" she asked. He looked so... normal, it was generally nice seeing him in something other than the Arkham uniform.

,, I am in need of lodging and thought you would be so kind to... put me up for the night?"

,, Either you fuck off or I'll put you down forever!" he laughed at that and looked for a place to sit, but there was none to be found, so he strode over and leaned against Raven's desk.

,, I don't think you would, to be honest."

,, Yeah?" she grabbed the telescope rod again and unfolded it with a trained moved of her wrist.

,, I wouldn't bet on it." he leaned closer to her, his face just in reach for a clubbing.

,, You helped me." he said simply.

,, And what had that got to do with anything?" she hissed, still pointing the rod at him.

,, That means you are no murderer. It means..." he lowered his voice slightly, murmuring softly like a lover might do during sweet-talk.

,,... that Raven Scarrow has a heart."

,, Wanna check if Scarecrow's got a brain?" Raven asked and got up from the bed, pressing the point of the rod to Crane's Adam's apple and not taking her eyes of him. He smiled and placed a strong hand over hers, pulling the weapon away from him.

,, How the hell did you even find me?" Raven asked, her cheeks burning with hate in knowing Crane was right. She wasn't a murderer.

,, Simple: I followed you, about since you left Narrows."

,, How did you get in? I locked the door after me." she pulled back from him and, after some time, folded the rod and threw in on her bed.

,, I said I followed you; always about two steps behind you."

,, That's impossible! I looked over my shoulder several times, you weren't there." that stupid I-know-something-you-don't smile again.

,, I was. It's just a matter of staying out of sight you see." he walked around her, Raven's muscles tensing as he did so.

,, There..." he said when he stood behind her.

,,... Can you see me now?" Raven sighed, she didn't have time for games.

,, No."

,, Turn around." he said and Raven did so, hoping she could get him out of her apartment in a hurry if she listened to him. But Crane was nowhere to be found, it was just Raven alone in her room, the only light coming from the bathroom and the faint streetlight through her curtains.

,, Amazing isn't it?" Crane said, making Raven shoot in the air. He really was just behind her. She turned again and there he stood, smiling ever so cleverly at her.

,, Well, you can do magic tricks after all." she crossed her arms over her chest.

,, Would you mind leaving now?"

,, I'm afraid not." she was about to protest but he continued.

,, I am still in need for a place to stay for the night."

,, Well then go to a motel. You ain't staying here tonight, I can tell you that!"

,, Considering our current position, it would be wise of you to let me stay here for the night."

,, Either you fuck off now or..." Crane took a sudden step towards her, making Raven step back and bump against the wall.

,, Or? You can call the police or any other authority, but then I am afraid that you will be in trouble as well." she raised a clenched fist but Crane grabbed her wrist and pressed her against the wall, still smiling cleverly.

,, You could of course kill me, but that would be such a fuss and you have no way to dispose of the body and..." he held her wrist up between them, looking at her fingers if he could spot ancient blood on them.

,,... it wouldn't be your style, would it?" he looked her in the eyes, making Raven uncomfortable.

,, And if I let you stay here tonight, you will leave and I'll never see you again?" he loosened his grip around her wrist.

,, That sounds agreeable." he leaned so close to her that Raven couldn't help thinking of her dream at Arkham...

,, Do we have a deal?" his hand slipped up and took Raven's. After some time, standing and looking each other deep in the eyes, Raven sighed and shook his hand slightly.

,, Deal. You sleep on the sofa."

,, I'm sorry?" he released her hand.

,, You're not sleeping anywhere in here, I can tell you that!" now Raven ad the upper hand. She edged around him and walked over and turned on the light in the bedroom ceiling, then walked back and turned the light off in the bathroom, closing the door after her. Crane was still standing and watching her.

,, What do you need, a teddybear? The sofa's through there, nighty-night." she turned her back to him and took the sweater she had dug from the closet and threw it on the floor.

,, I'm surprised you didn't ask where I were while you showered." Raven dropped her telescope rod and spun around, her cheeks burning red and her eyes dripping with rage.

,, You... didn't!" she hissed. Crane smiled back at her.

,, No worries, I was far to busy with keeping out of sight to observe any of your... loveliness." the smile playing in the corner of his mouth told another story, but Raven didn't get a chance to be mad before he continued.

,, Although I couldn't help noticing a rather lovely scar under all those scratches." he stepped teasingly closer.

,, Anything you want to contribute with?" she slapped him hard across the face and shoved him out of the door.

,, Shut the fuck up." she spat and closed the door after him, hating she couldn't lock it. But Crane didn't try to walk back in. She wondered if she should drag the desk up in front of the door, but it wouldn't help. She just placed the telescope rod under her pillow once more, then pulled her t-shirt off and pulled on a nightshirt. She pulled her trousers off and wondered if she should take her bra off, but then decided 'no'. It would be stupid sleeping with it, but she would feel so... bare with Crane in the next room. She turned off the light in the ceiling and crawled to bed.

In the living room Crane loosened his tie, never taking his eyes off the door. Then he removed his jacket and rolled it up to a pillow, which he placed on the sofa. He threw the green hoodie on the floor and lay down on the uncomfortable grey sofa and pulled his legs up, not taking off his shoes. It was uncomfortable, but it would be a good idea if he had to leave in a hurry. He watched the door to Raven's room until he slept, as if he was expecting her to walk out and tell him the story behind her scar.

In her bed, Raven slowly began to relax; she had escaped Arkham, she was on the run, Scarecrow was sleeping next door... But she was free, the bed was soft, she had clean clothes and there was coffee in the cupboard... Her eyelids eventually slipped down and she slept.

**Whoa, long chapter... I'll try not to make a habit out of it, I promise;)**

**Creepy note: the two women Raven heard about when she was younger are actually something my sister told me when we were way younger. I think (or hope sincerely)that it was just a rumor.**

**Oh, and there will be a slight pause in the story. Not that I'm not loving writing it (Or reading your reviews, by the by.) but I'm going to London this week for the holiday:D In any case, HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY!**


	10. Chapter 10

Familiars.

Jonathan Crane was amazed by miss Scarrow's sleep; she was lying curled up in the bed, face peaceful with dreams, not noticing the world around her. As he walked around her room she only muttered some inconceivable words, but never woke. He smiled at her sleeping figure, using only the light from the street to see. After he had examined every inch of her room, making notes at the most interesting parts, he walked over to the sleeping Raven and stroked her cheek with his soft hand. He enjoyed doing this, it was amazing to see how far a person could take it when his victim was asleep. As he tucked a dark lock of her hair behind her ear he wondered if he should strangle her? No, that was Scarecrow talking there. She would have nothing to report to the police, she would get caught herself if she tried, there was no way to make her body disappear, she had helped him... That was something that annoyed him slightly, now she was off limits. But just to close ones hands around that soft little neck again, feeling her life drain from her body and watching her growing weaker and weaker by the second... He shook his head and snapped back to reality. On the bed, Raven moved slightly in her sleep, arching herself closer to his touch. A wicked grin crept over Crane's face.

_What do we have here? _he decided to test her and traced his index finger along the line of her jaw, moving up and carefully tracing her features. Raven smiled slightly and sighed contentedly in her dreams. Crane ran his finger along the curve of her eyebrow, then moved down over her eye until he reached her lips. Gently, he drew a line around them and smiled when Raven did as well. He pulled away from her, satisfied with the results, and pulled out a small notebook and a fountain pen. In these days the only ones always carrying a notebook around with them were doctors and aspiring writers/poets. And to tell the truth, Jonathan Crane had never written a single sentence in a poem. And he was happy for that.

Thumbing through the pages he eventually reached the point where he had stopped last time, and wrote in his trim writing:

_Lonely. _even though the Scarrow girl seemed though on the outside, she was missing intimacy. Like every other person in Gotham did.

Reading through his notes, Crane didn't see when Raven stretched on the bed and opened her eyes. She shot up and glared angrily at him.

,, Get out!" she ordered and grabbed for her weapon under her pillow.

,, If it is this you are looking for, I'm afraid you won't find it there." Crane said, not looking up from his notes as he held up the cast iron rod, keeping it just out of Raven's reach.

,, Crane, you are playing with fucking fire, you know that? Give me that back!" she reached for at but Crane just stepped backwards and Raven almost fell out of the bed. Cheeks burning painfully, she got up and grabbed the notebook, Crane not making an effort to take it back.

,, From page seven." he helped when Raven furiously paged through the notes. Flickering till she reached the spot, Raven began reading and her cheeks grew red and her eyes dark.

_Raven Scarrow._

_Age, approximately 26 to 29._

_Reasons for being arrested and sentenced: Murder, arson, armed robbery or manslaughter. _

Arson had been crossed out along with robbery and there now was a question mark at murder. Crane had been keeping notes on Raven since her first day, hiding his book under his mattress like Raven had done with hers.

_Violent at times, with a tendency to kick. However, only fights when feeling cornered._

_Curses regularly but seems capable of having a civilized conversation. Quite an interesting vocabulary. _

While she read, Crane walked round her room and began examining the drawers in her desk, treating the object with a medical hand.

_Distinguishable features: quite a huge scar in her right side, ten inches long, about five inches above her waistline. Knife wound by the look of it, but not a knife meant for cutting flesh; breadknife, saw or something like that. _

_Orphan? _

_Slightly cultural, owns several Cd's with various artists and some books in a wide fan of genres. No science fiction and only two romances. _

_Lonely._

Raven made a fist and curled the notebook until her hand hurt, then ripped out the pages concerning her and threw the book aside, tearing up Crane's notes and letting them fall to the floor.

,, Don't keep notes about me!" she said, not looking up from the last shreds of paper. On the other side of the bed, Crane sighed and shook his head, rolling his eyes and muttering something which sounded like

_,, Women...!" _before opening an envelope he had found in one of the drawers. It was quite heavy and revealed itself to be filled with photographs. His lips curled into a soft smile and he raised an eyebrow slightly.

_And what do we have here? _

The first photo was of three teenagers, a boy and two girls, about fourteen to sixteen years old. They were sitting by a small, unlit campfire and a tent was showing in the background. The sun was shining and it looked like midday by the way the shadows stood.

They were all wearing loose clothes and the one girl, a blue eyed thing with deep copper curls, was holding a pair of sunglasses in one hand.

Camping. How very idyllic.

Yet it was the girl to the right who caught Crane's attention; her dark hair was falling down over her shoulders and she was wearing a grey flannel shirt over a dark blue t-shirt. Her jeans were slightly too big for her and were ripped several places. The boy in the middle, sandy hair and a smile which would have melted the heart of any ice queen, had an arm around the waist of the red-haired girl and around the shoulder of the dark-haired one.

She was younger, happier and her smile was sweet and genuine, but no doubt it was Raven.

Seeing her so young and happy made Crane smirk; she wouldn't like him seeing her like that. This was something he could always taunt her with; the past she had been fighting so hard to keep hidden from him.

,, You looked quite endearing when younger, miss Scarrow." he turned back to front her and waved the campsite picture in one hand. Raven looked up and her expression changed from _Hellish Pissed _to _Oh Fuck_.

,, Get your hands off my stuff!" she spat and walked up to him, grabbing for the picture. Crane darted her person and turned the photo and read from the elegant writing on the back:

,, _Susan, Gordon and Raven at a trip with the school last summer_. The material happy memories are woven of, true?"

,, Crane, did I do something to you which I have forgotten? Did I bully you at school, stood you up on our date, steal your boyfriend?" Raven noticed the rod had been disregarded on the desk, so she snatched for the photo again, but this time only as a distraction. Crane moved away again and Raven now stood with her back against the desk.

,, I take it the lovely Susan is the same who you wrote to back at Arkham?" Crane looked at the photo again. Susan had always been the most gorgeous girl out of the two of them, so she was usually the one who the boys fought over, Raven standing in the background and rolling her eyes.

,, Don't talk about her like that!" Raven hissed while her right hand moved back over the desk, running over notebooks and paperbacks, inching closer to the rod.

,, And the boy in the middle... a friend?"

,, What do you care?" her hand closed around the baton and she braced herself.

,, Give it back." she held out her left hand, but Crane didn't look up from the photo.

,, Keeping your happy memories locked away in a drawer... What changed? When did your heart break at the thought of former years simplicity?" he looked at her and took a step forward, making the small of Raven's back hurt when she pressed herself against the desk. They were now standing dangerously close, only a few inches between them. He smelt... nice. How come Raven had never noticed that before? Like a soft spring breeze... Like fresh air in Arkham...

,, When did it start to hurt?" he smiled.

,, Crane, you're right: I can't murder you..." he smiled wider at that, of course he was right!

,, But I can do this!" she swung the club and it connected with Crane's neck, not hard enough to hurt him too seriously, but hard enough to hurt darkly and make him fall down on the bed. Raven ran past him, snatching the photo on the way and raced out in the living room, the sound of Crane following her making her heart stop. Just when she thought she could reach the door, giving hell to her stuff just knowing she needed to get away, Crane grabbed her right arm, still holding the rod and wrung it to her back, forcing her to drop it on the floor with a clatter. His other arm locked around her neck and he forced her back out into the kitchen, where they stood and fought; Raven to get free and Scarecrow to hold her. He tightened his grip around her neck and Raven stopped when she could hardly breathe anymore.

,, That was certainly not the wisest thing to do...!" he hissed in her ear, Raven feeling her body growing heavy when she began gasping for air. When she stumbled back into Crane and though her vision was fading and she was probably going to faint, all Raven could focus on was that she was wearing an old oversized nightshirt, which only just covered her more sensitive areas, and was now creeping up as she was slowly lessening the distance between her and the kitchen floor, Crane still holding her arm on her back. As she slowly stumbled to the floor, the back of the shirt was held in place where her back was locked against Crane, so it slowly scrunched up. When he knelt down on the floor and Raven had no other choice but to follow, she felt his soft lips edge their way through her hair, stopping as they reached her ear and heard him speak ever so softly, yet so far away.

,, This is one of the great differences between you and me, sweet little miss Scarrow..." madness was knocking on the door and Crane had opened...

,,... I would not hesitate to twist this lovely little neck..." he moved down and whispered against her neck, the arm around Raven's throat loosening.

,,... however..." he sounded so regretful.

,,... you aren't useful to me, but you are neither good dead."

_Apathy, my guardian angel. _Raven thought as she grew so weak the photo slipped from her fingers and fell to the floor. Crane's arm moved down and locked around her stomach, fastening her free arm to her side. Raven's head tilted down to her chest and she gasped for air and tried to get the buzzing out of her head. Faintly she registered that Crane's face was still resting between her shirtcollar and her neck, breathing silently and making Raven remember a time before Arkham and police; where she could relax with her boyfriends and just sit together and rest, unwind.

,, You know, Crane..." she said, starring blankly at the corner of the kitchen floor, not even caring her shirt had been pulled up and showing the world her panties and most of her belly.

,,... you're a real son of a bitch." Crane chuckled and smiled, making Raven's skin crawl when she remembered her dream.

,, You really are an endearing little treat, miss Scarrow." sounded like Crane was going back to normal, but there still was some points...

Raven chuckled.

,, 'Treat'? Nice to know you're catching up on your slang."

,, Well, someone had left a colloquialism dictionary in one of the lockers..." he pulled back from her neck, almost making Raven utter some words of protest. It had been... weird and wonderful at the same time. Fucking creepy and off the charts, sure... but nice.

,, Would you mind letting go?" she asked and tugged her right arm, Crane letting go of her and pulled completely away from her, standing up and straightening his suit before walking back into the livingroom. Raven grabbed the grey shirt and pulled it down again, looking at the lone photo on the floor. She heard Crane walking back into the kitchen and quickly picked up the photo, not wanting him to take it again.

,, Well, I believe it would be time for me to leave..." he walked into her sight, looking so out of the kitchen in his cool suit. In one hand he was holding a brown paperbag, his possessions from Arkham, and he was scribbling down something in his recovered notebook, rewriting the notes Raven had torn out.

,,... unless you by any chance serves coffee?"

,, Fuck off." she said and got to her feet, now feeling exposed in her shirt. She walked past him and decided to follow his advise for herself and pulled out the coffee from the cupboard. She turned back to face Crane, who looked her up and down in her scantly dressing.

,, You can go now. I believe you agreed to us never meeting again?" he nodded.

,, This is our final meeting. Unless you want me to st..."

,, Go. I want you to go now and I will spend the rest of my life begging we'll never meet again."

,, So that is definitely a 'no'?" Raven walked to the sink and filled the kettle with water.

,, You need me to spell it out? I want you to fuck off. Simple as that." she grabbed his arm and walked out in the hall, dragging him along. She opened the front door and almost threw him out in the hall.

,, Bye." she said shortly and closed the door. She leaned against the wood for some seconds, as if straining her ears to listen for Crane disappear. For some time, she wondered if she really had thrown Crane out? Or was he playing hide and seek with her again, standing right behind her and watching her? After what felt like hours, she shook her head and walked back into her room, pulling on her trousers and began packing her bag, throwing the photo down the bottom of it. She would need to get out in a hurry, but she just wanted to stay and drink her first cup of coffee in ages, then take off.

She threw shirts and trousers in her bag, wondering what to do now?

_Leave. _she thought.

_Leave Gotham, leave the country, find a lovely little house far away and open up a chocolate shop. _

Okay, maybe the last part was sappy-romantic, but it sounded nice getting a new life somewhere else.

She ran a hand through her hair and turned to walk back to the kitchen, wanting to get that coffee in a hurry. When she almost bumped into Crane, who had snug up behind her, she almost screeched of shock, but he pressed a hand over her mouth, then held his finger on his free hand to his lips, indicating she should be silent. She shoved his hand away in an angry move.

,, What the hell are you doing here?! Didn't I tell you to fuck off?!" he cringed at her loud voice, covering her mouth with his hand once more and pushing her back into the wall.

,, Miss Scarrow, with all the kindness and respect one can muster: shut up!" he hissed whispering.

,, Your voice could wake the dead and has apparently done so, for there is a small but effective police squad on its way up the stairs." Raven froze at the news, Crane feeling it safe now to let go. His brown paperbag was gone, but a small bump was showing on his tailored jacket.

,, What do you mean? They shouldn't have been able to find me, it's hours since we left Arkham!" she hissed, keeping low.

,, Well, apparently the Gotham Police Department has grown faster since the Bat-man has gotten around." Bat-man. He spoke the name mockingly.

In seconds, Raven had to think up a plan. She hid her face in her hands, breathing out deeply.

,, Great...!" then she paced to the small window and forced it open, the curtains blowing in the wind. She looked out of it, then turned back to Crane.

,, You said a squad, but since they don't know if I'm really here, there's only the ones on the stairs." she grabbed her bag on the bed and threw it out on the fire escape, then climbed out herself, pulling on her sneakers on the way, freezing in her thin nightshirt. Crane followed, moving elegantly through the small space.

,, What are you doing, can't you take them down? You're the one with the gore-gas, you don't need to follow me."

,, I used up the last in my canisters when we took out moonlit stroll back in Narrows." Crane said, now accompanied by the heavy sound of someone pounding on the front door.

,, And I do not follow you voluntarily but since I am yet to sprout wings, I am forced to take the same way as you." he spat back. Raven rolled her eyes but none of them had time to start a fight, so they ran down the rusting stairs, until stopping at the drop where the ladder to streetlevel should have been. It had rusted away years ago, the remaining bits being removed by passing vandals.

,, You do live in such a wonderful home, miss Scarrow...!" Crane said sarcastically as Raven threw her bag the last way and jumped down in the narrow ally, marveling that she didn't land on any of the trashcans. She pulled her bag away just seconds before Crane landed on the concrete, running a hand through his dark locks and looking like it was something he did on a regular basis. Maybe he did.

Raven shuddered in the nightshirt as she and Crane moved swiftly down the ally, away from where the front door of the building was. They both stopped at the end of the ally, looking out into the street before them; it was still quite early, not many people were out at the time. Crane turned to Raven.

,, A goodbye handshake?" he asked and held out his hand, not joking anymore than by the soft smile on his face. As a goodbye Raven slapped him across the face again, then picked right and paced quickly down the way, trying to look normal in her odd clothes, with her hands trying to hold the bag so to shield her fingertips from the world.

*

Raven had been walking around Gotham the whole day, not ever looking up from the sidewalk more than absolutely necessary. She had been able to change her shirt in the toilet of a greasy diner, and was now wearing her white t-shirt with a blood red cardigan over it. Her meals had consisted of whatever the persnickety people of Gotham threw in their dumpsters. Three or four times she had returned to her building, always noticing the copcar just before she stepped out of the shadows. She had hoped she could have been able to return to her apartment, but now as night was falling she had to realize she would have to sleep on the streets. Maybe she could huddle down in a corridor in the subway? Or find a basement somewhere? She wasn't used to sleep like that, but she had experiences.

Tomorrow, she knew exactly what to do; tonight she would sleep.

Now, Narrows was defiantly one of the worst places you could find yourself in at night, but Gotham was a big city. Raven was now walking through the old industrial neighborhoods around the docks, hoping she could find an empty warehouse to stay in. As a teenager, she had been into urban exploration, so she knew how it worked.

When darkness grew around her, she began to loosen up and walked with her head held high and her bag slung over her shoulder. Then she heard footsteps behind her and stopped. Not cool Italian shoes, so it wasn't Crane... Worn down trainers and a quick, nervous pace, stumbling after her. A gun clicked the same second she turned.

,, Give you wallet and you'll be fine." stuttered the guy. He was some skinny kind of drug-wreck, his eyes sunken deep into the holes of his skull. His hair was so unwashed and greasy it could have been any colour. He was dressed in the kind of clothes most people donated to charity and he looked like hell; the gun in his hand, however, did not. It looked like the conductor to hell, but nothing else. Raven swallowed something; God, she hated guns!

,, I don't have any wallet..." she said and tried to act cool. The guy was shaking more violently than Gordon even had, and the gun was shaking ever so finely along with him. Never a good sign.

,, Just give me your fucking money!"

,, I don't have any." Raven shrugged. Her heart was pounding in her chest, but she had tried starring down a gun before. And somewhere in the back of her mind, a small voice went

_Oh great, not again._

The guy looked like he was thinking deeply; in real life, he was just fighting not to panic.

,, Well..." that was never a good word in these situations.

,,... then give me your bag."

,, No." Raven said. She didn't know why she had said it, but she had had a rough day and wasn't in the fucking mood to give up her bag. The guy took another step, holding the gun so tight it was a miracle it hadn't fired yet.

,, Give me your fucking bag!"

,, She said 'no'. Unless I am mistaking, it means she leans towards not having her belongs rummaged through by a cocaine wreck." it sounded like Crane, but his voice was darker and hoarser. Raven turned her head and saw Scarecrow saunter out of a long shadow between two abandoned warehouses. His mask seemed even creepier in darkness, only faint glows from distant streetlights helped her to see him.

,, Fuck off, Freakshow, this is none of your business!" the guy said, but stepping back when Crane walked completely out of the darkness, looking grim as ever in the burlap mask.

,, Fuck off!" Raven almost shouted. Why was Crane here?! She had asked him to stay away!

,, Is this how you treat your knight in a shiny armor?"

,, No, it's how I treat my stalker in an ugly suit!"

,, Hey!" Crane's eyes moved from Raven's face to the guy behind her and Raven turned back round. They had almost forgotten him in the fight.

,, Now it's your bag, bitch, and your fucking wallet!" he pointed the gun in turns at Crane and Raven.

,, Oh of course, one moment." Crane moved his hands up to his mask and clicked something, switched something on. He walked slowly up beside Raven, reaching inside his coat as if to take his wallet.

,, Uh Crane, I don't think this is such a good idea..." Raven said and stepped back, looking at Crane's wrists and knowing what to come.

,, Shut up and give me your bag!" the wreck said again. Crane's icy eyes caught her through the holes in the mask.

,, It would maybe be a good idea to hold your breath now, miss Scarrow. At least step back."

,, Crane, don't...!" but the sound of an aerosol can getting emptied and a squirt of white-blue mist hit the guy in the face. He yelped at the shock and stumbled backwards, but Crane moved fast as a lightning and was already behind him, and grabbed him around the neck like he had with Raven the same morning.

,, What do you fear?" he asked as the guy began to scream and claw at his eyes, something unseen horror burning him up.

,, Crane, it's not funny!" Raven said as Crane shoved the guy to the concrete, musing at his screams and fight to rid himself of the images, one hand still clutching the gun like it was the only thing solid.

,, Get off me! GET THE FUCK OF ME!" he shouted, something was crawling one him by the looks of it.

,, Crane, let him off...!" she tried again, but Crane was far too busy watching the guy.

,, Crane!" Raven felt so powerless, like a little girl on the verge of stomping her foot. She then turned on her heel and ran down the abandoned street, but was grabbed second later by ScareCrane, who held her arms painfully tight.

,, No, no, no, we need to talk, miss Scarrow." he said. Raven tried to punch him, but then stopped when she saw something over Crane's shoulder. The guy had somehow managed to point his gun at the back of the scarecrow, seeing something only for him. She didn't think, she just grabbed him by the arm and tried to pull him out of gunpoint. A thundering shot penetrated their ears as they reached the wall of one of the buildings, stumbling headfirst into the cement. Raven really hated guns, but she really _really_ hated gunshots. And then police sirens sounded, someone must have noticed Raven being mugged and had called someone, but hadn't done anything else to help her.

,, Great, we need to get away now!" she hadn't meant to say 'we', it just blurted out. Jonathan groaned and that was when Raven turned her head back from the squirming and screaming guy and noticed the blood.

,, Oh fuck... Crane?" she grabbed his shoulder and caught his eyes. His left hand was clutching his right upper arm, and he looked like he was in pain. Blood was running in crimson lines down his hand.

,, Oh fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck." she clenched her fist and hit him on the left shoulder.

,, You fucking jerk, this would never have happened if you hadn't insisted on playing Fear Factor!" she grabbed the mask and pulled it off his head, then smacked him across the face for the third time. Then she grabbed his left elbow with the same hand she held the mask in and ran away from the sirens, her brain running on serious overtime. After a headless running through the dark streets, until the sirens couldn't be heard anymore, they stopped and leaned against a wall, panting desperately for air.

,, Are you... are you..." she gasped for air and tried again.

,, Are you okay?" he glared meanly at her, biting in the pain and hissing through his teeth.

,, Define "okay", miss Scarrow." she rolled his eyes and pulled him down through a narrow passage between two warehouses. She shoulder at a random door and it opened, much to her surprise. She pulled Crane inside and walked further into the building, their shoes echoing against the floor. They walked into a great room which once had contained the heart of the fabric, the machines and all. Now all that was left were rusty chains hanging from the ceiling and scraps of metal on the floor. Raven's eyes scouted for a place to be, the dim light making her strain to see anything. Over in one corner she saw a... bed? Why not?

Crane began leaning against her, he was tired and hurt.

,, C'mon." Raven ordered and helped him across the room.

It was the kind of bed one usually got forced to sleep on when visiting a relative; someone must have found it on the streets and brought it into the abandoned house. Raven grabbed the musty blanket and pulled it off the bed, then helped Crane sit down. He groaned again and leaned back against the wall, before being whacked in the back of his head by Raven.

,, You fucking idiot, I have never been so fucking angry all my life!" she shouted and paced back and forth on the floor, running her hands through her hair and cursing violently.

,, And yet you are crying." Crane said. Raven stopped in her tracks and glared at him, wiping some tears of her cheeks with the knitted sleeve or her cardigan.

,, Yeah? That's how angry I am!" she didn't like it when people got shot, even if they were Crane. She looked at his mask, which she had thrown on the floor, then kicked it aside and walked back to the bed.

,, Lie down." she ordered.

,, Excuse me?" she grabbed him carefully by the shoulders and half helped, half forced him down into the bed.

,, You stay here, I'll be back as soon as I can." she turned her back and walked out into the room. Then she stopped and turned back, pacing angrily back to him while pulling her cardigan off. She rolled it up and grabbed his neck violently and placed the "pillow" under his head.

,, Don't you fucking dare to die while I'm gone!" she threatened and then left.

Jonathan Crane leaned back and sighed, closing his eyes and biting every breath of pain inside.

*

Half an hour later, Raven returned with a plastic bag containing a bottle or vodka, bandages and a pair of tweezers.

,, I went through hell to get this, so you just shut up now." she ordered and unscrewed the lid of the vodka, then took a big swig and twitched; she hated vodka but she felt like drinking. Luckily, a part of the roof far above their heads had rotted away and streetlight was flowing in and giving them enough light to see in. Raven walked around the bed and sighed after having examined the wound from every possible angle.

,, Anything wrong, miss Scarrow?" Crane asked, he sounded so tired.

The only angle from which Raven could get to clean the wound whilst being certain of getting it all was...

,, This doesn't mean anything, Crane, so don't go having wet dreams about me, okay?" she said as she straddled Crane in a smooth movement, Crane's eyes growing to triple size in their sockets.

,, Miss Scarrow, what are you do..."

,, Shut up, I need to concentrate." she unbuttoned his jacket and pulled it carefully off, then wiped some tears away and began rolling up his bloody sleeve, being careful _not _to tangle with the thin mechanism of the gore-gas.

When she had cleared the sight of the wound, she swallowed something in her throat and unscrewed the vodka once more, taking another mouthful of the foul liquid.

,, You want any?" she asked, trying to ignore the position they were in right now. Crane didn't usually drink vodka, but now he felt like it would at least sedate him slightly, so he took the bottle and gulped down the stuff. He cringed as Raven had when she had taken a sip, then handed the bottle back to her.

,, This will hurt." she announced before pouring a generous amount of the vodka on Crane's wound. Crane hissed and dug the fingers in his left hand down into the mattress, glaring at Raven through his narrowed eyes.

,, Thank you for warning me...!" he spat.

The wound was actually not so big and, luckily, the bullet hadn't reached the bone. Raven held the tweezers in one hand and poured some more alcohol out on them, then took another deep swig.

,, Should I be concerned that my surgeon is drinking?" Crane asked and forced a smile on his lips. Raven smiled back, then looked at the wound.

,, Bite your teeth together." she said. Crane closed his eyes and braced himself.

Raven carefully forced the tweezers down and grabbed the bullet, Crane hissing and wringing like an angry snake under her. Then she quickly pulled it free, like one did with a bandage, and dropped the bullet on the floor with a _clink! _Crane exclaimed sharply, but didn't strike out after Raven with his free arm.

,, Please tell me we are done now..." Crane groaned and looked at Raven, who in the same second grabbed the little piece of his shirt which had caught on with the bullet and pulled that free as well. Then she poured more vodka on the wound and grabbed one of the bandages, wrapping it thoroughly around Crane's arm. When she was done, she wiped the last tear away from her eyes, then helped Crane roll his sleeve back down.

,, I'm not a doctor..."

,, How very comforting...!"

,,... but I think you'll be fine." she slipped off him and grabbed the stuff she had collected and threw it back into the bag. Then she grabbed the blanket and beat the worst dirt off it.

,, We need to sleep now." she pushed him softly.

,, Move over."

,, How drunk are you?" he asked when Raven crawled back up in the bed and turned so she was lying with her back against Crane.

,, Well, I'm not sleeping on the floor!" she said as Crane turned over on his left side, pulling the blanket closer around him.

,, I know it's not ideal, but it will have to do..." Crane didn't answer.

After some time in the darkness, Raven talked again.

,, Crane?"

,, Mmn?" it came annoyed from him.

,, Were you following me? Outside?" there was silence for some time, Raven could only hear her own and Crane's breathing.

,, No." it finally came.

,, But, then what were you doing?" but Crane didn't answer.

Raven yawned and closed her eyes, wondering if she could sleep with Crane right beside her.

She quickly did though.

**All right, I'm BACK!! LONDON, BABY! (sorry, had to get it out of the system...)**

**Yeah, I know; another long chapter but it felt right writing and stopping it there. Please tell me what you think;)**

**Hope you all had, has or have a great holiday:D**


	11. Chapter 11

Behind the mask.

Now, people moved in their sleep.

It was not so peculiar, everyone in the world had at least once tried to wake up in a different angle than the one they had fallen asleep in. So it wasn't so strange that Crane and Raven moved in their sleep as well.

Somehow, during the night, Raven had turned around so she was now lying facing Crane, who equally had turned around during the night, not leaning on his injured arm. Maybe Crane had stretched at some point; in any case, his left arm was now draped over Raven's, body, as if protecting her from something or someone.

Raven stirred in her sleep and huddled closer up the person she was sleeping beside, the warmth of his body being the only thing solid in the cold room. Then she remembered who she was sleeping beside and her eyes shot open. Crane was lying and sleeping peacefully beside her, his left hand placed comfortingly on her head. She exclaimed something and shot away from him, falling backwards out of the bed and landing heavily on the concrete floor.

,, Ow...!" she groaned and sat herself up, glaring at Crane who still was asleep.

_Sleeping like a fucking baby...! _she got back to her feet and pulled her cardigan free from under the sleeping Crane, pulling it on and hoping for Crane that his arm was fine. She pulled the cardigan on and then carefully began wedging Crane's jacket free, both she and him had been sleeping on it, and roamed through the pockets until she pulled out the notebook and the fountain pen and paged through it. She tore the rewritten pages about her out again, shredding them up and leaving white confetti on the floor. Then she wrote something down;

_Will be back around noon; make sure to be out of my fucking sight then. _

_Keep your hands off my stuff._

She stopped and then wrote something more;

_And don't keep notes about me. _

She tore the page out and placed it on the bed beside the tranquil Crane, then put the notebook back in his jacket. The fountain pen ended up in the backpocket of her jeans, so he couldn't rewrite the rewritten notes while she was gone. She pushed her bag down under the bed, like it would stop Crane from roaming through her stuff. Then she pulled it back out, unzipped it and rummaged through it until she found the photograph of her, Susan and Gordon, and put it down in her trouser pocket. One thing he couldn't get his hands on.

Then she left.

*

The suburbs of Gotham... Creepy places, filled with rich old couples and over-spoiled children.

Raven shuddered and pulled her sleeves further down, making them hide the tips of her fingers. She had been driving all morning with the subway lines, and had then been walking for half an hour through the disgusting streets, filled with billion dollar houses and billion dollar plastic surgeries. Out here the lawns were green, the crisp colour of money, and little children ran around in the fenced gardens and played with each other. Raven felt so... out of water, even more here than in Arkham. Great, something for Crane to point out if she ever told him.

Then sun was shining and birds were singing, but Raven felt clammy inside. When she stopped in front of a huge white Victorian house, she could actually feel something inside her screaming to turn and run. In any case, she walked up the driveway, the gravel crunching under her sneakers, and rung the doorbell. She ran a hand through her hair and pulled down her shirt, taking a deep breath and preparing herself for what to come.

_Look at you! 12 fucking years and you're still the same pathetic girl as back then!_

,, Coming!" a woman called from inside the house as footsteps approached. Then the door opened and Raven flashed her teeth in a grin worthy a Cheshire-cat.

,, Mummy, I'm home!" the woman dropped her jaw at the sight of Raven, who slammed her hand against the door and forced the lady to keep it open.

,, Ra... Rave..."

,, It's Raven, thank you. Nice earrings." she shoved past the elder woman and walked into the entrance hall of the house.

,, Wow, you finally got the walls painted, huh? It looks like my cell at Arkham." she dug her hands down her pocket and walked up the stairs.

,, A... Arkha..."

,, Yeah, you know. Arkham: the asylum for the criminally insane. The place where all the crazies of Gotham end up. Didn't they send you a letter, I've been there the last couple of weeks. I've been beaten several times, I almost got gangbang raped by a group of Nazis, then I got taken hostage and gassed by that Scarecrow-fella.

Is dad home?" the shocked woman almost stumbled up the stairs after her daughter, her cashmere trousers almost getting caught on the railing. Her dyed blond hair bobbed like a helmet when she tried to run up the steps in her high heels, and she looked positively foolish. Raven was already at the top of the stairs, leaning against the railing and grinning back down at her mother.

,, Nice shirt; it's the one dad bought you on your anniversary, right?

Me? oh, I'm just fine, thank you for asking. Susan's fine too. You remember Susan, right?" her mother stumbled the last way and Raven leaned so close to her face that she was choking on the perfume stench.

,, She's the other girl who hung out with the... Oh, what was it you called him? Unnatural freak, wasn't it? Something like that anyway. Actually, if it hadn't been for you trying to straighten up her, I never would have gotten arrested..." she pulled up in her shirts and let her mother flinch at the sight of the scar.

,, And I would never have gotten this. Isn't that funny?" she pulled her shirts back down.

,, Raven, what are you doing here?"

,, Oh, I am in need of dipping into my savings."

,, Your sa..."

,, I never really got around to get my bank account, remember?" she turned and began walking down the hall, her mother stumbling desperately after her.

,, Raven Scarrow, you get out of this house right now or else I'll..."

,, You what?" Raven turned back round and her mother stopped dead in her tracks, being deeply and bottomless scared of her daughter.

,, You'll take away my phone? Ground me? Call the cops?" her mother's lips were a thin line in a plastic face.

,, I take it you were aiming for door number three?" Raven shook her head and turned back around, glaring meanly at framed graduation photos on the walls as she walked down to her old room. The door was closed and when she opened it, she couldn't help grinning at the sight.

,, Oh wow, really nice!" she stepped into the office and spun around, looking at the computers and the papers and the ringbinders. Her bed, her posters, her books and magazines, her cd's, her stereo... all gone. Not something to be upset about but... Her stereo... It had been a gift from her friends.

,, You'd never think there had lived a teenager in here!" she looked up at the ceiling where the door to the attic was, and she grabbed a chair and pulled it up under the spot, then jumped up on it and grabbed the small string tied to the trapdoor. She tugged hard on it and it opened, then she bend her knees and jumped up and grabbed the edge of the square hole in the ceiling and pulled herself up into the attic.

_And I cut most of my gym classes...! _

,, Raven, what _are_ you doing?" her mother called from downstairs.

,, Oh, the bank's just open now." she said and looked around. Boxes upon boxes with old memories and things they didn't need anymore. Like her.

She carefully edged her way over the claustrophobic room, until she stopped by an old trunk and forced it open; inside were all her old dress up clothes, all her costumes and princess dresses. She smiled at her own childish silliness and began digging through the fabric until she reached a shoebox at the bottom.

,, My little pot of gold at the end of the rainbow." she opened the white box and smiled at the sight of her favorite presidents; 50 and 100 dollar bills and loads of change in the bottom. She couldn't help smile at the small black game piece from some old role-playing game, something which had followed her all life like an angel and a demon; a raven.

There was defiantly enough money for her to get out of the country.

,, Raven, I'm calling the police!" her mother called from the office. Raven rolled her eyes and began crawling back over the dusty floor. She threw the box down the hole and followed second later, making sure she wasn't missing any money.

,, Mom, I'm gonna be home late tonight, so don't wait up, okay?" she shouted as she walked down the hall, box under one arm and hands in her pockets. She skipped down the staircase and pulled out the plug to the telephone along her way to the door, where her mother was standing and waiting for someone to pick up.

,, Raven Scarrow, you get back here right now!"

,, You know..." Raven's eyes burned when she looked into her mother's blue contact lenses.

,,... that tone never even worked when I was a kid, so why the hell should it start now?" her mother slapped her across the face, almost looking shocked at the act.

,, You are not my daughter!" she hissed. Raven's burning cheek bulged out when her tongue pressed against it from the inside and she shook her head.

,, You're one long rerun, mummy, did anyone ever tell you that?" then she turned and walked out of the door.

The streets still hummed with children's laughter and the voices somehow haunted Raven all the way to the subway.

*

Raven was walking through the docks in Gotham, box still under one arm and eyes almost burning holes in the concrete. She was happy for retrieving her cash, but she as also very hungry, and a meeting with any member of her family always made something inside her _burn_.

She sighed and opened the door to the warehouse she had spent the night in, amazed that she could actually tell them apart. More daylight shone in through the holes in the roof and made the dust in the factory room dance like gold.

,, Home sweet abandoned-setting-for-an-stalk 'n' slash-movie." she sighed and stated happily that Crane was gone. Strangely, she also felt slightly sad. Living the life on the lamb was like starting in a new school; it was so much easier to cope with if you had a friend along with you. Or in her case, a mentally disarranged stalker from the closed corridor of Arkham.

She walked through the room and pulled out her bag, shaking her head at grabbing herself in feeling sad about Crane's departure.

_I was the one who told him to leave. _she thought to herself and looked at the note on the bed.

,, Strawberries or blueberries?" Raven almost shot through the roof when Crane spoke, scrambling to her feet and turning to face him with her heart pounding in her chest.

,, What is it with you and giving me a fucking heart attack?!" she shouted. Crane was standing a few feet away from her, jacket back on and mask hidden away somewhere. He was holding a big white paper bag in one hand, his blue eyes glistening sweetly at her.

,, I thought you might be hungry." he said and walked up to the bed at put the bag down. Raven was seconds away from striking out after Crane's right arm.

,, I have told you, stay the fuck away from me!" she grabbed her back and flung it over her shoulder, almost taking off when she smelt something...

,, Is that..." she was almost scared of speaking the word, like it would make it all vanish. She turned back to Crane, who was standing with a triumphant smile across his face, and holding a to-go cardboard cup from some café containing...

,,... coffee?" he nodded and Raven dropped her bag to the floor, grabbing the coffee with both hands and looking at it like it was the most treasured of all relics.

,, It's black, but I brought some sugar and cream along." Crane said, gesticulating towards the paper bag. But Raven wasn't listening; she had walked around Crane and sat herself down in a sunbeam beside the bed, leaning her back against the slightly damp wall. Then she closed her eyes and knocked her head backwards and drank the coffee with an almost vampyric affection.

,, Oh God, that's so good...!" she gasped. Crane chuckled and pulled out a white box, the kind one got at the baker's, and reached it down to Raven.

,, Strawberries or blueberries?" he asked again. Raven creased her brows and looked at the box.

,, What?" Crane opened the box and handed it to Raven; Belgian waffles with crème fraiche and ripe strawberries. Raven almost dropped the coffee when she broke off a corner of one of the waffles and dunked it in the crème fraiche and munched it down like a hungry wolf might do.

,, Oh wauw...! Where did you get this?" she asked and took another sip of the coffee.

,, Wait," she raised and eyebrow and looked at Crane, who was sitting on the bed with his own breakfast and watching her in his own thoughts.

,, you followed someone around and stole their breakfast when they weren't looking, right?" he smiled.

,, Quite right, miss Scarrow. You are getting to know me." Raven picked up a strawberry with two fingers and took a bite of it.

,, Crane, how long are you going to follow me around?"

,, I am not following you, miss Scarrow; we just happen to meet all the time." Raven wasn't in the mood for arguing with him now, she was a woman; she could save the argument for another time.

,, In any case, if you're planning to meet me again, could you do me a favor?" he raised a perfect eyebrow.

,, Stop calling me 'Miss Scarrow'. I sound like a 60 year old school principal." Crane chuckled again; Raven decided she liked the sound.

,, On one condition; even though you have a... fetish with bird names, I am either dr. Crane to you or..." Raven twisted a lock of hair behind her ear.

,, Or...?"

,, If I am not to call you 'miss Scarrow' then what am I to call you?" Raven shrugged.

,, Raven. Just Raven."

,, Well, then I would be Jonathan to you."

,, Great." Raven got to her feet and walked over to Crane, holding her coffee cup up in a toast.

,, Then we can salute on it; you're Jonathan and I'm Raven." Crane held up his own coffee and nodded to her.

,, Raven..." he said, the word sounded strange when he said it, like he wasn't used to it.

,, Good," Raven sipped her coffee and grinned at Jonathan.

,, 'cause there's no way I would call you 'dr.'...!" Crane smiled back.

,, How's your arm?" she asked. Crane looked down at the hole in his sleeve, as if it would tell him the answer, and shrugged and looked back at her.

,, It'll heal. My suit is entirely another matter." Raven returned to her breakfast and smiled at him.

,, Good to know you're keeping realistic." she ate another strawberry.

,, Where were you this morning?" Raven looked back up.

,, Oh, I needed to... go and get a hold of something." Crane's eyes fell on the shoebox by the foot of the bed and he reached down to take it. Raven quickly leaned forward and snatched the box and stuffed it in her bag.

,, Just some money..." she said and shoved her bag away from where Crane sat.

,, And you are in need of money because...?"

,, Because I'm intending toe leave the country in a goddamn hurry." she dipped some waffle in the crème and placed a strawberry on it.

,, So the cunning miss Scarrow is not going to surrender to the police?"

,, Half a minute ago we agreed being on first name terms, Jonny Honey." Raven said and leaned back against the wall.

,, And anyway, what do you care if I scram or not?"

,, You are not going to the police. Which means that you are not regretting whatever it was you did." he leaned closer to Raven, and even though there was a great distance between them, Raven felt unable to move. She was somehow... enchanted by him.

,, So we are back on the murder theory now." Raven emptied her coffee and stood up, shaking her head at him. Now it had all just been nice...

,, Whatever you think. Thanks for the breakfast, I'm off." Crane quickly got up and shot after Raven, grabbing her by the arm and stepping in front of her.

,, What is it now?" she asked and tried to tug her arm free. To her shock and surprise, Crane pulled her closer and wrapped his free arm around her. His hand moved down her back and into her back pocket, grabbing his pen and pulling back again. Raven wrung away from him with her cheeks red as neon lights and looked like she could tear his heart out any second.

,, You keep your hands off my ass, or it'll be your fucking head!"

,, Just needed my pen, don't think so highly of yourself." she was about to fly at his throat when someone walked into the huge machine hall.

,, Boss, we found you." the man sounded happy. Crane turned around and looked at him, grinning like a wolf.

,, Indeed you did." the man was dressed in a pair of khaki trousers with a white t-shirt and a dark leather jacket. He was wearing heavy work boots and the bulge on his jacket told the tale of a gun. He had dark sleek hair and week old stubbles. He nodded politely to Raven, the walked over to where whatever the factory they stood in had been producing got loaded to truck and forced one of the rusty garage door open. A white van was waiting outside and quickly drove into the building. Raven counted two thugs in the seats, but there didn't appear to be anymore in the back.

Crane turned back to her and smiled.

,, One of the things I do love about Gotham: even in this digital age, you can find a phonebooth if you search for it long enough."

,, Well, good for you." Raven turned her back to Crane and began walking towards the door from which the first of Crane's thugs had appeared, but then Crane flowed her again and cut her off for the second time.

,, Not so fast."

,, Crane... Can't you just please leave me alone? I really can't see why you need to keep stopping me from leaving." gently, Jonathan placed his hands on her elbows, slowly running them up over her shoulders and up to her cheeks, where he stroked them gently with his thumbs. Raven grabbed him around the wrists, not knowing what he was doing but deciding she would like to be prepared for... something.

,, Raven..." he murmured softly. Raven opened her mouth to say something, but she had lost her voice and all that came was a small sound. Crane's face leaned closer to hers, his beautiful blue eyes filling up Raven's world.

Then he quickly pulled back and knocked his head forward and his skull connected with Raven's. Her eyelids quickly slit down and she grew limp in his hands and would have fallen to the floor if Jonathan hadn't caught her and picked her up, leaving her bag on the floor. He looked at the unconscious figure in his arms and sighed.

,, You still need to tell me a few details about yourself, miss Scarrow." he adjusted her position in his embrace and looked at the waiting van and one of his subjects, Daniel, who was standing and watching his boss with a slight feeling of awkwardness.

,, We will be bringing her along." Crane said as he began walking and Daniel opened the side door or the van and jumped in and made room for a person to lie down.

,, Get her bag." Jonathan ordered when he stepped inside the van and carefully put Raven down on the floor, grabbing his mask and pulling it on in a swift movement. Daniel returned with the bag and crawled in beside Crane and the unconscious Raven, whom he peered nervously at from time to time. Crane unzipped the sportsbag and pulled out the knitted blue sweater from her apartment, which Raven had brought along, ignoring the ladies underwear which had been packed down beside it, and placed it under her head like a pillow. Daniel closed the door of the van and Crane sat himself up on one of the small seats and knocked his hand against the wall to where the driver sat and the van turned around and drove out into the midday streets of Gotham.

**Well... Not really much to say... **

**Roses are red, violets are blue,**

**if you want me to smile,**

**then send a review;)**

**Nah, they just inspire me to write something more in a hurry. Thank you for all the reviews so far!:D **


	12. Chapter 12

Snippets of a story.

Raven winced and rolled over on... whatever she was lying on, forcing her eyelids open with a great deal of will power. She was lying on a bed in what appeared to be a small apartment. She forced herself to sit up; her cardigan was lying on a chair to her right, along with her sneakers and her socks. The room was small, but held a bed, a table with a TV on it, a lamp in the ceiling and a small door to the left, opened into a small bathroom. Furthest away to her right was another door.

The wall by the foot of her bed was lined with windows and, shaking and cursing, Raven got to he feet and walked over and looked out; the "apartment" was inside an old warehouse, Gotham was crammed with them, and Raven could look out and down at the laboratory below her. There was a long table filled with bottles and canisters, notes and wires and other equipment. There was also three men walking around with face masks like the ones doctors used in hospitals. Speaking of doctors, a man in a blue suit and burlap mask was sitting by the table and working on something white, which looked like some sort of powder, time to time stopping to write notes down in a small book. Raven clenched her fists.

_Crane...!_

Then one of the thugs, the one Raven had seen before Crane had knocked her out, casually looked up and saw her watching them. Then he walked over and tapped Crane on the shoulder and said something Raven couldn't hear. Crane turned his head and looked up at Raven, she could imagine him grinning under the mask. He got up from the chair and walked over to a metal staircase which led up the right wall, Raven guessing he was on his way up to her. She turned back from the window and sat down on the bed, cursing from the throbbing and stringing pain in her head. When a key was turned in the door, she glared up at Crane when he walked in, pulling his mask off and running a hand through his hair.

,, Miss Scarrow, good to see you up and about once again." Raven didn't talk, she just glowered. Crane walked over to her and handed her a plastic bottle of water and two small pills.

,, Something for your headache." Raven still glared as she unscrewed the bottle and swallowed the water and the pills, and then spoke in a hiss.

,, I'll give you one fucking chance to explain why the hell you're so obsessed with always having me around, and it'd better be fucking good!" he chuckled again and now Raven only found the sound annoying, then leaned against the wall with the windows in.

,, Fairly simple, actually: you still need to tell me a few minor details about yourself, then you are free to go."

,, "Minor details"?! You fucking headbutted me because of "minor details"?!" Crane shrugged and pulled out his notebook and pen, then paged through the words until he found a clear sheet and looked at her.

,, The sooner you start, the sooner you can go." Raven's jaw was dropped to her chest and it took her some time to convince herself she wasn't dreaming.

,, What am I to you, a fucking puzzlebox? You really want me to believe that you kidnapped me because you wanted to play 20 questions?! I can see why you ended up at Arkham, you're fucking crazy!" he bowed his head to her, still smiling.

,, I can't believe you...!" she grabbed her socks and pulled them on, then trod her feet down in her sneakers. She pulled the cardigan on and slung her bag over her shoulder and quickly walked to the door.

,, I'm fucking off." she opened the door and took a step out on the staircase, then Crane grabbed her and dragged her backwards into the room again, Raven shouting a

,, Let me go you fucking creep!" before the door slammed shut again. Down on groundlevel, the three thugs looked at each other and shrugged, then continued their respective work.

Up in the room, Crane pressed Raven flat against the wall and grinned sweetly.

,, Just tell me about yourself and you can go."

,, You're a fucking freakshow, Crane. Either you let me go right now or..."

,, Or you'll club me down? Oh no, that's right; you're unarmed." he leaned closer to her face.

,, I can do what I want to you, so consider yourself lucky I am only after your stories." he let go of her arms and stepped back, giving her some room. Raven sat down on the bed and sighed.

,, So, if I tell you something about myself, you'll let me go?"

,, I believe that was what I said." after some time, she shrugged and sat herself cross-legged in the foot of the bed.

,, What do you want to know?" Crane smiled and sat down on the chair, pulling his notebook back out.

,, You went this morning and collected some money. From where?"

,, My parents' house. I stashed some cash aside when I was younger."

,, Adopted?"

,, My real parents." Crane crossed his question of whether Raven was an orphan or not out.

,, And the photo in your drawer... The two other persons, tell me about them." he wanted to know why Raven didn't display her friends more proudly.

,, Just friends... Gordon and I met in... pre-school I think. Then we met Susan in fifth grade. We were friends all through high school..."

,, And why do you hide your friends away in a drawer?"

,, Remember at Arkham when you asked me if I'd been a schoolshooter?" he nodded.

,, Well, you were almost right..." Raven felt cold and grabbed the thin blanket on the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders.

,, I was a student at Gotham southern high school..." Crane sat for some time and remembered what he had read in the newspapers back then. A boy had walked into the school and fired several shots, but hadn't managed to kill any. He had forgotten the surname long ago, but the name Gordon rung a bell.

,, So your friend Gordon was the...?"

,, Yeah." she bent her head but kept on talking, she wasn't in the mood for keeping it a secret anymore.

,, When we were... sixteen he found out he was... gay...

and he was so nervous for anyone at the school to find out... it had quite a reputation for beating up fags... even some of the teachers did... after school... we saw our gymteacher once... kicking the crap out of some girl, just because she was a lesbo... so Gordon kinda kept low..." Crane listened intensely and wrote notes down, looking at the small Raven on the bed, sitting and looking at the floor with shiny eyes. Yes, he had heard the stories about that school... The coach wasn't even expelled.

,, When my parents found out I was friend with a queer, they kicked me out... I lived with Gordon at my grandma's till I was eighteen..." she closed her eyes when she remembered that day at the school.

,, Then one day..." she squeezed some tears from her eyes and wiped them away, Crane mentally shaking his head at women's emotional balance. So easy to make them cry nowadays.

,, Someone found out about Gordon and his boyfriend and told some others, and then the gossip went..." yes yes, he knew that.

_Get to the facts, you silly girl. _

,, Gordon walked into the school, fucking determined to kill everyone who knew... I tried to talk with him and he had almost put the guns down..." now she looked at him, her teary eyes making something inside Crane... squirm. But he convinced himself he was just sick of people always getting emotional.

,, Then some fucking idiot shot him through the window... Some kind of police guy, I never really cared to know more..." an image of Gordon's face appeared in her head. They fucking shot him in the head; a small circular hole right between his eyes. Like in a fucking movie. Raven would have laughed if it weren't so wrong.

,, I was standing right in front of him... I don't think I've ever screamed that much..." she looked at him again, crying silently now. Tears were running down over her face and she wasn't even making an effort to wipe them away anymore.

,, Is that enough?" Crane put his notebook back in his jacket.

,, For now." he still wanted to know about the scar and why she had been arrested, since schoolshooter wasn't the cause.

,, I'll get one of my men to bring you some food later." Raven shook her head.

,, I'm not hungry..." she whispered silently

,, I just want to get some sleep... What time is it?"

,, Around nine in the afternoon, you've been sleeping most of the day." Raven got up and Crane did as well, gloating in his mind for having made Raven expose herself to him.

,, Crane..." she walked over to the door and looked at him as he followed up and stood in front of her.

,, Miss Scarrow?" Raven's arms snug around his body and she buried her face in his shoulder, choking some sobs while Crane stood stiff as a board, not knowing what the hell to do now. After a few panicky seconds, wondering if he could allow himself to push her away, Crane carefully patted her head with one hand and wrapped his free arm around her.

,, Sorry..." Raven pulled away and shook her head at herself.

,, I didn't mean to do it... It just..." Crane shook his head.

,, If you need anything, knock on the window and... someone will come." she nodded and wiped some more tear away.

,, Thanks, I just think I need to be alone right now..." Crane quickly nodded and slid out of the door, pulling it locked again and wondering about the Stockholm syndrome. But didn't it take much more time for the victims to feel an attachment to their captors? Or was Raven just too sad to care whose shoulder she was crying at? He mentally kicked himself for hugging her back, if what he had done could have been described as a hug. It had been silly, stupid, sentimental... So unlike him.

On the other side of the door he could hear Raven choking her crying, and walked down the stairs and pulled his mask back on again.

*

Raven had always loved theatre. And she had always wanted to be an actress. Once, with some friends in college, she had played Ophelia in Hamlet. And through that role, she had learned something valuable: she could cry without being upset. Just telling Crane about Gordon was a perfect way to set the mood; she had shed her tears for him, it was foolish keeping on crying for years. And hugging Crane had been the icing on the cake.

Raven held up the key to the door and smiled, her crocodile tears drying on her cheeks.

,, Sucker." to think he had believed she was tired! He had said it himself; she had been sleeping for most of the day.

She sat down on the bed and grabbed the remote control to the TV and switched it on, needing to kill some time until Crane and the thugs went to Dreamland.

On GCN was a reportage about the missing criminals at Arkham.

_It is still unknown if any of the prisoners have teamed up after the escape. _

Five pictures appeared on the screen, Raven smiling at the image of her own mugshot. Crane and Selina were on her right side and Joker and Riddler on her left.

_Out of the five prisoners, the men known as Joker and Scarecrow are on the police's top priority list. Yet it should be mentioned that this woman... _

Raven's picture now filled the whole screen, deep amber eyes glaring coldly out in every livingroom in Gotham.

Raven really hoped that Susan was watching TV right now. It would be something to laugh about.

_Raven Scarecrow, is NOT insane, but is to be considered dangerous. _

Aw come on! Not even the news could get her name right!

_Sorry, Raven Scarrow..._

Yeah you're sorry!

_She was last seen out in the southern suburbs of the city, collecting a box of money from her parents' house... _

Raven switched the TV off and smiled at the thought of her mother, probably on the verge of fainting, telling about her insane queer-loving daughter had turned up on the doorstep and threatened her until she had handed over the money.

_Mummy in a nutshell. _

Then she sat down and closed her eyes, relaxing the best way she could. And she waited.

*

About one in the morning, the people below had all vanished to wherever they slept and Raven snug out of the door and down the stairs. Wonder if Crane had slept in the room before her? It was the best place around here to sleep she guessed, since she heard snoring coming from the van, parked by the left wall. She decided to sneak further away from the room she was in, finding a door another place in the building. However, when she tiptoed past an ajar door, she stopped in her track and grinned sadistically. She put her bag down on the floor and opened the door slightly more and walked in. The room contained a small table and a chair and a bed. On the table stood a small television, much small than the one Raven had had in her room, which indeed was more luxurious than this.

The room furthermore contained a sleeping Jonathan Crane, lying on the bed with his tie and jacket off, and his shoes standing on the floor.

One part of Raven shouted for her to kick his bed and shout

,, Boo!" just to see his reaction. Luckily it didn't win and Raven settled for taking the notebook on the table and tearing the notes about her out again. Then she wrote what she had said when Crane had left:

_**Sucker! **_and left the notebook open on the table. Then she saw something beside the TV. Something made of burlap.

Crane, Joker, Batman... They were all the same; they used symbols. Symbols scared. Joker used clowns, Batman used... well, bats. And Crane was a scarecrow. If Raven removed the symbol of the Scarecrow, she would remove something he was depending on to make people shudder at the sight of him. Or maybe she'd just piss him seriously off. In any case she snatched the mask and snug out of the room again, putting it in her bag before she walked further down the halls until she found a way out.

*

It was raining and when Raven reached the building, about and hour after having left Casa Del Crane, she was drenched to the bone. She pressed the doorbell to a certain apartment and waited in the cold darkness until it was answered.

_,, Yes?" _a grumpy woman's voice said. Raven pressed the button down to answer.

,, You know, if you think this through, it's not late. I'm just waking you up really early." the was silence for some time, then the woman answered again.

_,, Raven?" _

,, 'morning, Sue. Sorry to wake you, but I kinda need a place to stay." Susan didn't answer but Raven got buzzed in and raced up the stairs until she reached the door of her friend's apartment. Susan was standing in the doorway in her PJ, looking at Raven with huge eyes.

,, Sorry for waking you! But I've had a long day, I'll tell you all about it, but please, can I stay here? Just for tonight?" Susan didn't answer, she just grabbed Raven and gave her a hug so Raven would swear that her spine creaked.

,, Oh God Raven, I've missed you so much!" Raven hugged her friend back, then pulled away from the embrace.

,, I don't want to get you all wet." she explained as Susan hauled her into the apartment.

,, What are you doing out in the streets at night? Are you okay? Did you see the news? Have you been eating? You need anything?"

,, Sue, calm down!" Raven grabbed her friend by the shoulders.

,, I need to sleep... When it's day, I'll tell you everything, okay?" Susan nodded, then pulled her into her bedroom and gave her another hug.

,, Raven... I'm so sorry for everything, if I'd known how much trouble you'd get into I would have done something more... Bailed you out or something." Raven laughed dryly.

,, I don't think you'd been able to bail me out, Sue. Besides..." they looked each other in the eyes.

,, I'm not regretting what I did." she took Susan's right hand, which was missing the little- and the ring finger.

,, I never will, no prison can change that." there was silence for some time, then Susan snapped out of her thoughts and walked over to the bed.

,, You can sleep here, I'll sleep on the couch."

,, No fucking way, I'm taking the couch." long story short, they spent the next 20 minutes arguing and insisting, until Raven finally won and got the couch. She changed into her nightshirt and huddled down under the covers Susan had given her. And she slept, smiling at the thought of Crane when he woke up and discovered the Raven had left the nest. And brought his precious mask along.

**Ew, hates homophobes!!!!!!!!!! (read my profile for other things I hate) **

**I was once accused by some of my teachers for wanting to start a schoolshooting. But that is, as Michael Ende says, another story.**

**Anyway, thank you for all the reviews guys! **


	13. Chapter 13

Kiss and make up.

,, And then I ran." Raven sipped the coffee and leaned back in the chair, looking at Susan who was sitting and trying to comprehend her friend's story.

Raven had been telling her almost everything from since her first day at Arkham, leaving out the times she had been in fights and such. She wouldn't like to make Susan feel guilty...

,, Wow..." Susan said after some time and took another bite of her toast.

,,... then what are you going to do now?" Raven shrugged.

,, Grandma always talked about Scotland, you know? Where her mother grew up before coming over here. I guess I could carry the Scarrow-bloodline back over the sea." Susan smiled. She had missed Raven's way of talking, like it was some ancient play.

,, But then... we'll never see each other again?"

,, Hey, I'll write! And send over some haggis and pictures of my hot boyfriend and me. And you can still visit."

,, I'll miss you anyway."

,, 'course you'll do. I mean, even Crane is probably crying in the corner right now, just because he misses me." Susan still couldn't believe Raven had talked to Scarecrow!

,, Or maybe it's because I stole his mask." Susan almost choked on her coffee.

,, You did _what_?!"

,, Come on, did you never read V For Vendetta? His whole talk about blowing up the parliament, removing the symbol which gives the government power? I just kinda... stole his essence." Susan's shocked face twisted into a smile.

,, Can I see it?"

,, That's the Sue I know!" Raven almost leaped from the chair and grabbed her bag and pulled the mask out, walking back to the table and holding it up like a trophy. Her fingers looked more normal now, Susan had given her nails a coat of blood red nail polish, so they now looked like perfectly ordinary nails, maybe cut a bit too short.

,, Lo and behold." the mask even looked grim without Crane's eyes peering out. Susan looked at it with the same fascination like when watching a car crash.

,, Wow... He really wears that?"

,, Not anymore." Raven held the mask up to her face and looked at the small mechanism in it.

_So that's why he doesn't breathe in the gore-gas... _

,, Don't wear it!" Susan said and looked desperately and grinning at her friend.

,, You have got to be kidding me! Have you never seen a horror movie? The second you wear the killer's mask, he always shows up with a machete in his hand." Susan put her coffee down and nodded at the logic in Raven's words.

,, But I confess I am torn..." Raven sat down on her chair again, looking into the empty eyes of the mask.

,, Should I

A: send it to the police?

B: cut it up and leave it on Crane's doorstep?

C: cut it up and throw it out?

D: hang it from somewhere down central Gotham, where _everyone _can see it but no one can get a hold of it? Or

E: keep it as something to show my sweet little tartan dressed children, when I'm an old crone in the Scottish highlands?"

,, I vote for either B or D."

,, Yeah, but E is really something I'd love telling my kids."

,, Before they are removed by the police." Raven smiled at that, but the smile was slightly sad.

,, Oh..." Susan looked at her friend, who was sitting and playing with the last crumbs on her plate, remembering when the police had walked into her room at the hospital.

,,... sorry."

,, Ain't nothing, I'll be fine." but there still was a pressured silence in the kitchen, and when neither Raven nor Susan could take it anymore, Raven got up and shook her head.

,, I'd better make ready to go. Before the cops begin combing through the streets for... criminals less valued than Crane and Joker.

,, You met Joker?" Susan got up as well and followed her friend into the living room, where Raven pulled her nightshirt off and got dressed in her dark grey jeans and a dark green shirt. She had showered and felt wonderfully fresh now, her clean shirt was feeling great against her skin.

,, Yeah, he's a real hoot." Raven said and buttoned the shirt, leaving the two top buttons undone. Too tight...

,, Fucking crazy 'n' all, but a real hoot." she ran a hand through her hair, stretching like a cat before throwing Crane's mask into her bag.

,, So... you need me to walk you anywhere?" Raven shook her head.

,, Best you don't get mixed up in all this shit. And when I write to you, I think I'll give myself another name... Just to be safe, you know."

,, Got anything in mind?"

,, Branwen. It's Welsh, I think... Means 'Beautiful Raven'. And it sounds good, with me living in UK and all... " Susan smiled, Raven never stopped to make her do that.

,, I'll go get the greyhound to some airport out of Gotham, then I'll pay for a ticket to... I don't know, England, and then I'll leave this here all behind." Raven's amber eyes looked into Susan's blue ones, water and fire meeting each other.

,, I'll miss you..." she said silently, she had never been good at this sort of talk... Saying hello or goodbye, it just wasn't her.

,, I know..." Susan smiled back, her eyes shining as a few tears ran down over her cheeks.

,, I'll miss you too." in a rare moment of exposed tenderness, Raven hugged her friend, long and silent, fighting back those tears which were pressing against the back of her eyes.

,, This is wrong." Susan announced when they let go of one another.

,, It's life; something is always wrong. Don't you think Thomas' family will say it's wrong I'm off? That I'm not sitting locked up somewhere, rotting down to the basics?"

,, Yeah, but..." Susan rubbed her eyes.

,,... they're mean."

,, No. They're humans. 'course, I don't think his mother is glad of what he did... But I don't think she likes me for... you know." Raven slung her bag over her shoulder and slowly, hating every step more and more, she walked out in the hall, Susan following awkwardly, not knowing what the hell to say. At the door, Raven turned and gave her friend another hug.

,, So... I guess I'll call when I get there." Susan nodded sadly and Raven quickly walked out of the door and almost ran down the stairs, feeling solitude and guilt rain down on her. Solitude, for now she would never see one of her oldest friends again; guilt for leaving Susan.

*

Raven _hated _greyhound busses. All in all, she hated travelling with bus or plane altogether, sitting crammed down in small uncomfortable seats, just waiting for it all to be over so she could race far away from the bus stop or airport and just _breathe_. And now, she was forced to travel with just those two means of transportation. Irony or something like that.

She was sitting at a small greyhound station in a small ugly yellow plastic seat, her bag sitting on the seat beside her, hands buried in her pockets and eyes locked on her feet. Besides her in the small waiting room, was an old lady in her PJ's, who muttered some kind of German children's song to herself before breaking down and crying like a five year old, and a nervous man in a grey suit and with a bag with something Raven only could guess were money on his lap, looking nervously around and jumping at the smallest sound.

Two hours until the bus came... Great.

In the room, in addition to the uncomfortable plastic seats, were a trashcan and a small TV, bolted to the wall in the corner. The sound was turned down to muffled muttering, but it looked like a news report on GCN, pictures of police cars and such. With nothing better to do, Raven tried to concentrate on the people on the screen.

_,,... only two hours ago, where the police surrounded the building and managed to arrest three men, who were working in what appears to be a small laboratory. Yet the police has now informed that the man they were hoping to find, Jonathan Crane also known as Scarecrow, has escaped and is nowhere to be found in the area._

The screen switched to a picture of Crane, his cold eyes looking straight through the photographer, Raven feeling like he was looking at her.

_So, Jonny Honey made it. _Raven thought, but couldn't help feeling cold on the inside. Sure, she didn't care if Jonny was caught or not, he could run around Gotham as much as he wanted. She just feared he would be running around Gotham, looking for his mask.

She huddled further down the seat.

Looking for her.

*

Jonathan Crane woke in his cold room with a bad taste in his mouth and a stiff neck.

Why had he given that ungrateful woman his room? She was probably more used to sleep like that; he was the one who needed a good night of sleep, he was the one mixing the fear toxin after all.

When he sat up on the bed, which was far to hard and uncomfortable for his taste, almost as hard as the one at Arkham, he immediately noticed something was wrong.

His notebook was lying open on the table, which meant _someone_ had been in his room, since he remembered leaving it closed. The torn up paper on the floor gave him and idea of _who _it had been in his inner sanctum. He reached over and snatched the notebook, eyes darkening when he saw _what _had been written in his notes. He grabbed his tie and quickly tied a Windsor knot, then pulled on his shoes and jacket, buttoning it while standing up and putting the notebook in his pocket. Then he reached down for his mask... and froze.

_When I get my hands on that girl...! _he wasn't stupid, he knew she had gotten a hold on the key and had left. But how? A short replaying of last night quickly brought him the answer. He remembered her tearstained cheeks and tortured look, he remembered her arms around his body and her face buried in the fabric of his shoulder, he remembered she smelled of strawberries and coffee, he remembered hugging her back.

In a moment of frustration and ill-disposed self-kicking, he stroke out and hit the television, making it fall to the floor with the most dramatic noise. He kicked the smashed pieces around, then ran a hand through his hair and stormed out of the room, pacing angrily back to the main room. He felt his anger overwhelm him again and this time, several steel canisters and test tubes got smashed to the floor, last ones mentioned breaking. Daniel, who sadly was the one standing closest to his boss, carefully looked up from the canister he was filling and asked nervously:

,, Somethin' wrong, boss?"

,, Where is she?!" he shouted fiercely and sent another load of tubes to the floor.

,, Who?" Daniel asked stupidly. A very severe mistake.

,, 'Who?'" Crane grabbed Daniel's shirt collar and pulled him up close. In a fistfight, Daniel would be the strongest, but he was too scared to move.

,, You ask me 'who?'?!

That little lying ingénue, that deceiving, double crossing "woman" who until hours ago was sitting locked up in the room I believe I told one of you to watch!" Crane shouted before hurling Daniel across the table, making several pieces of equipment smash to the floor.

,, That's who!" he looked up at the empty windows. Last time he had done that, he had seen Raven standing and looking back down at him...

_Scarrow..._ he corrected himself.

_Not Raven. _

Before he could work out the thoughts in his head, wondering where to find Scarrow, wondering how to make her scream, he heard sirens. He stopped and listened intensely, hoping they would fade and go away. They didn't.

As more sirens joined in and approached their hiding spot, Crane and his bullies quickly began to flee the place, Daniel doing it shakingly and with some effort, since he had been spun about by Crane. Crane grabbed a black briefcase and ran down a narrow corridor, leaving his subjects behind to get caught by the authorities. He had someone he needed to visit.

*

Raven felt hungry, but she couldn't risk being seen so she didn't move from her seat. She was now alone in the waiting room, the guy in the suit had gotten onto a bus some twenty minutes ago; the old lady had been escorted back home by some family.

It wasn't really a good room for waiting for a bus in; there was no windows and one had to walk to the door and check when one's bus arrived. Raven was just happy GCN had a small clock in the bottom of right corner, so she always could check the time. A single lamp in the ceiling did its best to provide light enough for the persons in the room to see in, but the fight was uneven and dark shadows loomed in every corner. It reminded Raven so much of Arkham she actually felt herself breaking a cold sweat down her back. She needed some fresh air, she decided, and got up and left her bag behind, walking to the door and stepping out onto the grey concrete platform. The air was sour and filled with smoke, but Raven calmed down after some time and decided to walk back in before she got too cold. That, and it was never a wise thing leaving your belongings out of sight, unless you wanted them stolen.

She walked in and was almost about to sit down when she, quite without knowing why, looked at her bag. It was unzipped.

_Oh fuck. _she thought to herself when she carefully, as if it would blow up in her face, lifted the bag and looked down to find out if anything was missing. But, all her stuff was still there...

Ice water ran down her spine when she looked through her belongings again.

... but the mask was gone.

,, Oh... fuck." Raven dropped the bag to the floor and turned around, needing to get out of the small room in a hurry. But when she grabbed the handle of the door, she couldn't move it. It was locked.

Then she felt a hand on her shoulder and was twisted around to look into a pair of far too familiar blue eyes.

,, Lost, are we?" Crane asked and emptied a strong dose of fear toxin into her face.

Raven fell backwards and the back of her head connected with the door, scrambling to the floor and gasping panicky for air. Crane towered over her, his mask moving in the flashing light from the twisted blub in the ceiling, becoming more real. The stitches in the burlap changed, moved, squirmed until Raven realized they were not stitches at all; they were maggots. Crane grabbed her neck and pulled her to her feet, slamming her flat against the wall, Raven feeling herself losing touch with reality, plunging into pure fear and shadows.

,, Now..." Crane's voice sounded like that of a nightmare, Raven found herself unable to breathe by the sound of it.

,,... I believe 'the gloves are coming off' is an appropriate term?" he threw Raven to the floor, where she desperately whimpered and tried to hide her fear.

_It's just Crane, it's Jonathan Crane, all this is just images, you're okay... _but when Crane bent down and a couple of maggots fell on the back of her hand, Raven cried out and began to brush the worms away, clawing at her own skin with her useless nails in a violent attempt to rid herself of the maggots. She felt her side sting again and cursed when her shirt grew darker and sticky from the blood. Crane grabbed her hair and pulled her back up to look her in the eyes. His mask was rotting and maggots and worms were slithering amongst the stitches, but the eyes were still as blue and cool as ever. But the face was still too horrible to look at, so Raven turned her face away.

,, Look at me." Crane's voice growled. Raven only tried to tug free, not responding to his order.

,, LOOK AT ME!" he grabbed her face and forced her to look at him again. Raven, in reply, shut her eyes tightly.

_Why are you scared? It's just Crane, remember? Good cheekbones, beautiful eyes, soft voice, twisted mind? He checked to see if you had broken any ribs back at Arkham, right? And you helped him with his arm. Under that mask his face still is. You can just reach out and pull it off._

Raven carefully opened her eyes and looked at Scarecrow. He was looking right back at her, wondering if he should kill her or let the toxin do its job? The maggots were still crawling from the burlap, even squirming from the corners of his eyes now, like he was crying them. The muffled sounds from the streets outside had turned into roars of madness, but Raven wasn't scared of that. It was just sounds.

*

Crane was...

Goodness gracious, he hated to admit it.

... confused. Raven wasn't screaming, she was hardly even crying. She just sat, with her heart pounding in her chest, her body almost giving in and giving up to the race, but she just sat. Sat and watched him, shaking with fear.

*

Raven was still scared, but not as bad as she had been the first time. It was images, like a movie. True, when a movie got too creepy you could always turn the TV off, but she knew the things she saw and felt were just something provoked by that gas... Her side stung and something, which felt and sounded like flies moved out through the cut, but Raven didn't react to it. Her heart was thundering in her ears, her blood rushing through her veins, but she was too busy to notice.

She, very slowly, lifted her shaking arms and her fingers touched the burlap of Crane's mask, maggots digging in under her nails. She found the trim of the mask and began tugging at it, clenching her teeth so not to let her panic take over. Her fingers moved in under the mask; there it was, soft skin, not scary at all. The back of her fingers moved against the mechanism that prevented Crane from breathing in the gas, and she carefully began pulling the mask off. She removed it and looked into the twisted features of the Crane the gas told her was there. She dropped the mask on the floor and was about to touch Crane's face again, to convince herself he was real, but Crane grabbed her wrists and looked at her, confused and... impressed, was it?

Then her chest began to sting painfully as her heart raced to the limit, and Raven pulled free of Crane with a slight whimper, pressing her hands against the spot. The sting turned into a burn and Raven clawed at her heart, wanting the stupid pain to go away. Her head felt heavy and her breath came in hollow gasps. Then Crane grabbed her and softly pushed her back to the concrete floor, rolling up her left sleeve before...

Raven cringed when the needle penetrated her arm, but then gave in to the dizziness and fell back to the floor, almost fainting when her body began to slow itself down.

Crane got up and walked around the room, running his hands through his hair and wondering why he had done that. He walked back to where Raven lay and picked up his mask and stuffed it into the inner pocket of his jacket. Then he carefully put a hand on Raven's sweaty forehead, feeling her skin burn under his touch. Raven rolled onto her side, not to avoid his touch, but so not to choke when her breakfast forced its way back up. She shoved his hand away when he tried to brush a stray lock of hair away from her face, then sat up on her knees and hugged her arms around her stomach as more acid got coughed up. Crane sighed and walked to the door and opened it with the small key he had stolen from the desk of the small office beside the waiting room. The sour tang of vomit soon filled the room as he walked back and grabbed Raven 's bag and put it down beside the vomiting girl.

,, Up." he said. Raven spat something out and shook her head, wiping her mouth with her sleeve.

,, Get up." he said again, but Raven still didn't move from the floor, even though the stench of vomit was sickening. Crane sighed again and bent down, gingerly taking Raven by the arms and helping her to stand up, even though she was leaning heavily on him. He picked her bag up and thrust it into her hands and shoved her towards the door.

,, This way." he led her out of the room and away from the concrete platform of the bus station, trying to act casual. Raven tripped and stumbled into Crane, who stopped and helped her to straighten back up again.

,, Take all the time you need, there's no rush. Over half of Gotham's police forces are looking for me, the remaining part are looking for you; sauntering down the street in broad daylight, we'll be fine...!" he tugged her along the street.

,, Come on, you can swoon later."

,, Give me one... good reason for... why I shouldn't throw up on your shoes?"

,, Well, I am sure you'd find it very hard to breathe later on with your throat slit." he stopped to let a group of old ladies pass, smiling his Jonathan Crane smile to every one of them, before walking through a small ally, Raven having no choice but to be dragged along.

She hardly noticed where they were going, her eyelids had gone into a nasty habit of falling down again and again. Crane led her into a building and let her stumble into the elevator before following. He pressed a button and the elevator began to rumble and Raven closed her eyes and pressed her hands down over her ears. The toxin was still in her body and the sounds in the ridiculously small space were boring into her ears.

,, Claustrophobic?" he asked as her head involuntarily tilted and leaned against Crane's shoulder, hands still trying to block out the sounds of the elevator. She just shook her head.

,, That's okay, we're he now." the doors hummed when they opened and Crane helped her out. All Raven registered then was walking-stumbling- down the halls of the building and then her vision faded.

*

Raven-Scarrow, why did he always forget?- was more sleeping than awake when Crane opened the door to his old apartment. The police had raided the place several times, so there was an awful mess, but Scarrow was probably used to that. He estimated the distance between he and the bedroom and decided it was too far for him to drag Raven. He had slept on the couch in her apartment; she could do the same here.

,, There we are, mind your head." he said when he helped her down on the couch, pulling off her shoes and placing them on the floor. He disappeared into his old bedroom and came back with a thin cover and a pillow. He lifted her head and carefully placed the pillow under it.

Funny... her hair was remarkably soft. She must have washed it. He leaned carefully down and sniffed in deeply; yes, soap and shampoo. Under him Raven moved and whimpered in her sleep, the toxin was most likely giving her some very vivid nightmares. Well, he knew how to handle that.

Give the person comfort, make sure they know there's nothing to be afraid of, make them relax.

,, It's all right, there's nothing to be scared of, it's just a dream." he said and stroked her hair soothingly. He felt slightly stupid for doing this, but if it could help her shut up, it was worth it.

,, Just a dream..." he pulled the cover closer around her and sighed; why had he given her the antidote? He always carried a syringe with him, not that he minded gassing people who annoyed him, but if one of his thugs got a panic attack whilst carrying something valuable, it was best shouting at them while they were able to hear him.

,, Just a dream..." speaking of which, he was tired himself. He leaned back into the chair he was sitting in and sighed. He just needed to relax.

*

Raven woke when she heard someone walk around, but it took her ages forcing her eyes open.

,, Ah, you're up. Good." Crane's voice cut through her brain and made her groan. She felt a hand move under her head and lift it from the pillow she was lying on.

,, Drink this, you need to rehydrate." the tip of a glass was put to her lips and Raven sipped the water before spitting it into Crane's face. She smiled wickedly as he let go of her head to wipe the water away, then grabbed her neck again and lifted her head up.

,, You can laugh later on, you need to drink this. You vomited up most of your fluid level, so either you drink it here or at the hospital." reluctantly, Raven began to drink the water, first noticing now how thirsty she was. She grabbed the glass and gulped the water down before falling back onto the couch again.

,, Good. Now lie still and I'll go get you something for your head." Raven could only imagine how she must look when her eyebrows furrowed at Crane. When he got up she looked around and wondered where she was. She was lying on a black leather couch in what appeared to be an apartment belonging to someone who had money. At one of the walls a bookshelf in brushed steel stood, containing medical books and samples of medicine. Beside the couch she was lying on were a comfy chair to match and a coffee table with a glass surface and a frame of more of the brushed steel. The colours were cool and probably very fashionable to some; to Raven they just looked dull. To her right, behind the sofa, was a window with a great view over Gotham. Raven could figure out she was in a rich part of the city; not billionaire Bruce Wayne playboy rich, but a more subtle and smooth kind of rich.

,, There we are." Crane walked back into the room, holding a glass with water and some white powder swirling around in it.

,, This should make the nausea go away; and we need to get you to eat something. A good healthy meal should help you get back on your feet again." he handed her the glass, but Raven didn't take it. She looked at it like it would explode.

,, Something the matter, miss Scarrow?" Raven looked at the glass and the white powder in it.

,, I'm not drinking it." she said shortly. Crane sighed and sat down in the chair, still holding the glass out toward raven.

,, Miss Scarrow, why would I poison you? If I recall correctly, you are still recovering from our little meeting, so why would I drug again so soon?"

,, I suppose 'being a fucking nutter from Arkham' isn't much of an answer?" Crane sighed and took a sip of the water, proving to her it was safe to drink, before handing it to Raven. Raven would like to act cool and casual, but she was dizzy and her head felt heavy and light at the same time, so she took the glass and drank the bitter water. She made a face at the taste.

,, It tastes disgusting."

,, True, but that just proves it works. Lie back down, you're still tired."

,, I think I know best if I'm tired or not." Raven argued, but Crane pushed her back down in the couch before getting up again.

,, Relax, I don't want you fainting in my apartment."

,, Your apartment?" Crane took his briefcase, which had been lying neatly on the floor under the coffee table, placed it on the glass plate and snapped the locks open.

,, Yes. My apartment. The police won't be looking for me here right now, they have already checked for me several times." from where Raven was lying, she saw that the briefcase was filled with metal canisters and a couple of notebooks. Crane selected a canister and pulled a small thing from his belt, carefully filling it with whatever the canister contained.

_More of the gore-gas, I bet. _

,, The things you told me when we last departed," Crane said casually like they were discussing the weather, while packing the canisters away.

_Oh great! Not again...! _

,, were any of them true?" Raven rolled onto her stomach and buried her face in the pillow.

,, Crane, please tell me you're joking!"

,, Do I strike you as a person who jokes, miss Scarrow?" he didn't.

,, The stuff about Gordon? Yeah, it was true. I just began crying cause I knew you'd let your guards down and I could get the key while you were busy playing friendly doctor." Crane clenched a fist and counted to ten, concentrating on locking the attaché.

,, Come on, you don't have to be so bitter." Raven had turned her head and was looking out at him through locks of dark hair.

,, It just proves Scarecrow's got a little heart buried deep somewhere down under the burlap and the straws."

,, Were I you, miss Scarrow, I'd quit while I was ahead." Raven twisted back and sat up, leaning heavily against the back of the couch.

,, Well, then it's a good thing you're not, right?" she crossed her legs and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to comb it without a comb.

,, How'd you find me?" she asked.

,, Simple; you sent two letters to two different persons at Arkham. Only one of them wrote back, so I figured that would be the person most likely to shelter you. From there it was just finding miss Goldman's address..." Raven felt cold when she thought of Crane getting anywhere near Sue.

,,... and then find the nearest bus stations from there. And voila; Raven Scarrow, waiting for her bus." when Crane said it, it sounded so logic Raven almost felt embarrassed for not figuring it out herself. But that's Crane for ya'.

,, Speaking of which, who was the other person you wrote to?"

,, Why should I tell you?"

,, Do you have anything better to do?" Raven slumped back into the couch and sighed.

,, My brother. I write to him now and again, to tell him I'm all right. Not that the fucker gives a damn, but it's my little... I don't know, habit."

,, So you broke off all contact with your family when your friend did with his?"

,, Yeah. Now shut up." she huddled back down and closed her eyes.

,, I'm tired." Crane wanted to hit her, hard, across the face for bossing him around. But at the same time... Let her sleep, then he could get some peace and quiet.

He got up and walked to the door, sneaking out of it and moving down the hall, making sure no one saw him. His kitchen was empty and he needed to find something to eat for him and Raven.

_Scarrow. _he corrected himself again.

**Sorry for taking so long, but it's been a busy week... And I'm sorry to say, that for the next month it may take even longer before updating... Still loving to write it, nothing like that at all, but the exams are coming up at my school, so I need to concentrate a bit on them...**

**Thank you for reading, reviewing and (hopefully) liking the story!!!!:D And I still love reading your reviews, it's great inspiration!!!:D**

**Hope to update again as soon as possible, Seventh S. **


	14. Chapter 14

Agreed.

_You don't have to answer me, if you don't want to_

_And you don't have to hold me close, just to calm my fears._

The Crüxshadows- Solus.

Raven's eyes were closed, but she wasn't sleeping. Just... relaxing, meditating, call it what you like. Crane had snug back into the apartment some ten minutes ago, Raven having to crawl down under the sheet to hide her smile when she noticed through her eyelashes that Crane was actually _tiptoeing _so not to wake her. A delicious smell of food was beginning to fill the apartment, Raven wondering if Crane could hear her stomach growl, and she knew she had to get up sooner or later. Just when she decided to open up her eyes, however, Crane walked over and pinched her arm through the sheet.

,, Ow...!" she sat up and pushed his hand away. Crane just smiled and handed her another glass of water.

,, Dinner is almost served. You drink this, it'll help you feel better." Raven still felt dry so she took the glass and drank some of the water before standing up, following Crane out into the small kitchen.

,, You are not a vegetarian or any thing like that?" Raven hated that question. She always somehow felt... guilty for not being a veggie, not being healthy and all.

,, No." he pointed to a white table where tinfoil boxes with cardboard lids were standing, along side a small bottle of wine and a bottle of water and two glasses.

,, You can sit there." she sat down in a white plastic chair, which probably had won several designer awards, and Crane sat down on the other side of the table.

,, Who did you pinch this from then?" she asked and took another sip of the water before opening the box nearest to her; spaghetti Bolognese. Great, now they just needed Joker to point out something about this and Lady and the Tramp, then the mood was set for a great evening.

,, Does it matter?" Crane asked when he handed her a knife and fork.

,, Not at all, just curious. "

,, Yes, well I'm not the greatest of cooks on my good days, so I thought you'd at least eat this if you knew I didn't make it." he screwed the metal cap of the cheap wine and poured to himself.

,, Oh, believe me. I wouldn't even think about eating anything you had made...! No offence, 'course." Crane never even looked up from the box he was opening.

,, Of course." Raven reached for the wine, but Crane took the bottle and put it out of her reach.

,, You shouldn't be drinking, miss Scarrow." Raven's eyebrow arched perfectly.

,, Did you just say what I think you said, or is there something wrong with my head?"

,, And this would be where I threw in some sort of punch line about yes, you heard correctly and yes, there is something wrong with your head?"

,, You can't boss me, Crane, and after today, I need a drink."

,, Alcohol burns up the body's water resources; the last thing you need, miss Scarrow, when the toxin still is in your system." Raven reached over and snatched the bottle.

,, God, you sound like a teacher. And I'm not drinking this without drinking water as well; hell if I'm going to be even the slightest bit of woozy around you...!" she sipped the wine and made a face.

,, Disgusting, I know." Raven quickly drank her water, trying to rid herself of the sour tang of the plastic wine.

,, Could have warned me." she growled and began eating, trying to taste the food and make it last instead of just gulping it down. They ate in silence for some time, not really having anything to say. Then

,, Crane, why did you bring me here?" he looked up from his dinner.

,, Had I left you, you would most likely have died." Raven didn't like the thought of being close to dying. Not at all.

,, Yeah, but why do you care? You can't still want to play 20 questions with me?"

,, Even though you may find this hard to believe, miss Scarrow, I am not that great a fan of killing."

,, So what, Narrows being gassed was just an accident? "Whoops, sorry there, didn't really know what I was doing."?" Raven and Susan had been talking back and forth on the subject for some time.

,, Had I known it had been planned to gas the city, I never would have approved." Raven's eyebrow arched again.

,, Miss Scarrow, do you enjoy killing?"

,, What's that supposed to mean?"

,, Not you, but nice to see how you react. I'm talking about getting caught in the crossfire, innocent people falling when some fight erupts between some of the Gotham gangsters, your friend getting shot by the police right in front of you..." Raven's eyes were dark and her lips were pursed slightly. She didn't answer, but it was clear what she wanted to say.

,, Well, neither do I."

,, Then why do you do it? Hurt people, scare them, break them?

You're still a hypocrite, Crane, I don't really see the point in trying to convince me otherwise." she sipped her water and pushed the empty tinfoil box aside. She wanted to leave, but she doubted Crane would let her. She began fiddling with the metal lid from the wine, not looking up at Crane, who was sitting and watching her in that way he did again.

,, Manslaughter." he said after some time. Raven's eyes quickly caught his, dark and slightly sad, before she snapped the cap over the table, making it hit the side of Crane's empty foil box. They looked each other in the eyes for some time, then Raven got up and left the kitchen, walking back into the living room. Crane followed.

,, Something wrong?"

,, Shut up." she pulled her socks and shoes on, standing up and walking for the door.

,, Game over, Crane. You won; I can go now." she grabbed the handle of the door, but Crane's hand grabbed her wrist and she turned her head to look him in the eyes.

,, Let. Me. Go." she hissed but he didn't.

,, Stay." he said. Raven froze at the tone of his voice; it wasn't an order, more like a suggestion...

,, Why?"

,, It's late. It's dark outside. I just don't want to go through all the trouble bringing you here just to see you get killed tonight when you fail to hand over your belongings on time." the hand on her wrist wasn't hurting or forcing. He just held her gently, like her bones were made of glass.

,, Tomorrow, you are free to go. Tonight, you can stay and I won't have dragged you here in vain." Raven was about to argue, but Crane cut her off.

,, I won't ask anymore questions." he let go of her wrist and stepped back, giving her an opportunity to open the door and leave.

,, I promise." Raven stood for some time, weighing her situation in her mind. Then she sighed and her hand fell from the handle on the door. Crane reached out and touched her shoulder gently, almost carefully, smiling like they were friends.

,, I don't suppose I can offer you to sleep in my bed while I sleep on the couch?" she shook her head.

,, Don't push your luck, I'm still sleeping on the couch." she walked back into the living room, feeling utterly awkward as she sat down on the couch, leaving her bag on the floor and crossing her legs. She began toying with the cuff of her shirt, wondering why she hadn't punched Crane in the face when he had touched her. Twice.

Outside, it was indeed growing darker, but Raven didn't switch on any light, she wasn't stupid. If people noticed the empty apartment where the crazy doctor from Arkham lived was filled with light, they might get suspicious.

,, Feeling better?" Crane asked as he walked in and sat down in the chair, carrying Raven's glass of water in one hand and his own wine glass in the other. He had been cleaning away the boxes and leaving no trace of people actually having eaten in the kitchen. Raven shrugged and took the glass, her fingers touching Crane's when she did so. She could hardly see a thing in the darkness of the room, even though the light from the city outside pooled in through the window.

,, I thought you said you wouldn't ask anymore questions?" in the semi darkness of the room, Crane smiled and sipped his wine.

,, True, I don't know what got into me." Raven smiled at that, the wine hadn't been that potent so she assumed he actually made her smile.

,, 's okay."

,, If you need to change before you go to sleep, the bathroom's through there." Crane pointed to a door in the same wall as the door to his bedroom was in. His apartment, Raven had decided, wasn't a home; it was a place to sleep, eat, maybe bring home a date, but she could guess Crane was a worker. Probably spent more time at work than at home.

,, Crane? What did you work as? Before Arkham?"

,, Before I got locked away at Arkham, I worked at Arkham." so Joker hadn't been lying...

,, As what?"

,, Head of the pharmapsycology department." he could hear Raven's lips part when she was about to ask "what?" so he continued.

,, I draw profiles of the inmates at Arkham, calculating which combination of medicine is best providing them with."

,, So, you drug them so they can't hit back when you play Fear Factor?"

,, That's one way of putting it." Raven was amazed by how cool he could sound when talking about something as horrid as that.

,, Joker said you owned Arkham... Was he just lying or...?"

,, I was the head of Arkham, yes. Not something very interesting to discuss, if I may say it."

,, That explains it..." Raven mumbled to herself.

,, Sorry?"

,, Well, being head of Arkham, I don't suppose you had much spare time?"

,, No."

,, It's just... Your apartment is so empty; no photos or pictures on the walls, nothing to make it homey. It's just a place you sleep."

,, You are not as stupid as you want people to think, miss Scarrow."

,, Was that an insult?"

,, Not at all. I just take it that you have at least read one crime novel, since you have the eye and mind of a detective at times."

,, Not reading crime novels doesn't make you stupid."

,, True, but this is just based on the information I have about you."

,, Stop taking notes!" Raven threw her head back and covered her face with her hands, sighing deeply.

,, I know I said I wouldn't ask any questions, but can I have this last one? As an encore?" Raven sighed; she would like to be angry and shout at him, but she wasn't really in the mood for it.

,, Shoot."

,, Do you care for your family?" Raven sat frozen for some time, the question had baffled her and left her speechless. Then, after so long time Crane had decided she didn't want to answer, Raven changed her position, resting her hands on the couch before her crossed legs, starring at the floor.

,, No... I mean, not anymore... I think... I mean, they fucking abandoned me..."

,, And your grandmother? The one who took you in?" he couldn't help smile slightly when he saw the smile that crept over Raven's face.

,, She... was great. Gordon once told me living with her and me was better than his own family." Raven looked... happy, Crane couldn't fail to notice.

,, She always called me 'shorty' even when I grew taller than her." Raven turned her head and looked at Crane, still smiling slightly.

,, Then she died, two weeks after my graduation. I think the stuff about Gordon really wore her down. But until then..." she stopped herself. Crane almost envied her for having had, apparently, the perfect grandmother. She was probably the type who bought you toys and other wonderful gifts for birthdays and such. The only thing Crane had received from his grandmother, and any other part of his family for that matter, was a good beating now and again.

,, You got any family?" Crane sat for some time, wondering what would be the best and most polite to answer.

,, No, they're all dead." before Raven could go on with the ' oh, I'm sorry to hear' and such speech, Crane talked on.

,, And there is no reason for pitying me, I'm quite happy to be rid of them." Raven's eyes glowed in the shadows, like embers, and she cocked her head slightly, like a bird usually does.

_Raven by name, Raven by nature. _

,, You're starring." Crane said and drank the last wine in his glass, wondering if "wine" would be to exaggerate. Raven turned her head away, clearly embarrassed, feeling how the blood rushed to her cheeks. She leaned down and took her bag.

,, I'm going to change." she said and got up, walking to the bathroom. Crane, not knowing why he couldn't turn away, followed her with the eyes all the way. He turned away the second the door clicked behind her, feeling the blood rush to his face, as it had done with Raven seconds ago.

He had decided calling her Raven, each time he called her Scarrow, he accidentally called her Raven again. He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, he was tired. He could of course go out, get some fresh air and some time away from Raven, but it was night; the Bat-man was out patrolling the streets by now. Besides...

he found that most shocking.

... he didn't want to leave Raven alone again so soon.

*

Raven was standing in front of the mirror in Crane's bathroom. Her shirt was lying on the table beside the sink, and she was looking at the scar in the mirror. She was trying to ignore the small, sadly all too well known, feeling in her chest, trying to concentrate on the scar.

She had tried it before, sometimes with friends and her brother's friends, sometimes with people at her school, four dreaded times it had happened with some of her teachers. And now it was happening with Crane.

_It's okay, you've tried it before, it's just stupid, meaningless, all in all natural, nothing to follow up on, you know it never is._

She shuddered when an image of Crane's blue eyes somehow worked its way into her mind. Cool eyes she could lose herself in, eyes she never had to hide anything from, despite how much she tried.

_Stop, you know it's not helping. You've spent some time together, of course you see him like that now, it's only natural. _

She pulled her nightshirt on and pulled her trousers off, cursing herself for not having anything else to sleep in. She looked back into the mirror, convincing herself one last time before walking out of the room.

_It's just a crush. Just a crush. Nothing serious. Just... A... Crush..._

Crane looked up when she walked back into the living room, holding her bag and her clothes up like a shield. He had made the bed on the couch as much as he could, and Raven strangely felt tired, the toxin made her sleepy.

,, If you need anything..." he pointed to the door to his room.

,,... you know where to find me." she nodded and sat down on the couch, wrapping herself in the sheet before huddling into a ball and closing her eyes. Crane snug into his room and sat down on the bed, waiting for about ten minutes before sneaking out again. Raven was lying on the couch, sleeping soundly like he had left her. Carefully he bent down and picked up her bag and walked back into his room, placing it on the floor before walked back and looking down at the sleeping figure. He bent in his legs and moved one arm down under her legs and one around her body. He picked her up, catching himself in holding his breath as if not to wake her. He walked back into his bedroom and put her down on the bed, wrapping the blankets around her, making sure she wouldn't freeze. Then he realized just how silly he was being and left the room again, closing the door after him.

Then he pulled out a small cell phone, something he had stolen from a bypassing man on the street, and dialed a number. He held the phone to his ear and waited impatiently. Everyone in Gotham got scared during the night when the Bat-man was out, but being scared of answering their phones...! Please.

Finally it got picked up in the other end.

,, It's me." he said in his dark sophisticated Scarecrow-voice.

,, Everything's going as it should... Tomorrow... Here... Don't bring too many of your gorillas along... and come early, around seven... well then you don't have to come, will you? These are my conditions, take it or leave it..." he waited for a pair of seconds, a grim smile creeping over his face.

,, Good. See you tomorrow then." he turned the cell phone off and sat down on the couch, leaning back and closing his eyes, his cool smile still playing in the corner of his mouth.

*

Raven felt something was wrong the minute she opened her eyes. She wasn't lying on the couch she had fallen asleep on, but in a bed. She put two and two together and cleched her fists around the sheets.

Why couldn't he just let her sleep where she wanted to sleep? She kicked the covers away and got up, pulling her clothes in angry movements. She was going to shout at Crane and to hell if she was going to do it in her nightshirt!

,, That stubborn annoying mental case nutter...!" she pulled her trousers on and grabbed a white long-sleeved shirt.

,, That no good wannabe doctor, that fucking hypocrite...!" she forced her head through the collar and paced towards the door, still fight to get her arms through the sleeves, but stopped when she heard voices. She leaned against the door and held her breath, listening to the talk on the other side of the door. A voice she didn't know, then Crane's, even though it sounded darker than usual. Then the other voice again, then Crane. She wondered if it would be best for her to stay put, but she was thirsty and decided if Crane wanted her to keep away, he would have locked the door. She pressed the handle down and the door opened. The voices silenced and Raven heard something click, some safteycatches on guns being released.

,, Put those away, she is mostly harmless." Crane said and Raven walked out. The couch had been moved around the table and the chair was now where the couch had been before. Crane was sitting in the chair, still dressed in his stupid suit and his burlap mask. In the couch sat a man Raven never had seen before, with dark hair sleeked back over his skull. He was wearing jeans and a greasy t-shirt with a brown leatherjacket. Behind him stood two other men, standard size thugs, Gotham league. Their jackets all had a visible bump

_guns _

and the thug on the right even had a knuckle duster on the right hand.

,, Who's the broad?" the guy in the couch asked, winning a mean glare from Raven. Crane turned his head and looked at her, like he had forgotten who was there, then turned back and looked at the guy.

,, She is not of any importance. I believe we were about to estimate a price?" on the glass table several plasticbags, the size of a sheet of paper, were lying, each of them filled with a white powder and taped thoroughly shut. Drugs, by the look of it.

Raven rolled her eyes, who was she to judge Crane, then walked to the kitchen to get something to drink. The three guys followed her with the eyes all the way, before the one in the couch nodded to the man on his right, the one with the knuckle duster, turned and followed Raven.

,, Pretty thing." the guy in the couch said, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it, much to Crane's annoyance. He hated the stench of cigarette smoke.

,, She has nothing to do with all this, so I would advise your gorilla to keep his hands off her, if, that is, he wants to keep them attached to his arms."

,, You shaggin' her?" he asked through the smoke of the cigarette.

,, Does that have any effect on the price?" Crane interlocked his fingers and gesticulated to the drugs on the table.

,, So, back to the business."

*

Out in the kitchen Raven leaned against the counter and gulped the water down. That stupid toxin had parched her completely, she had to talk with Crane about that. She put the glass in the sink and turned around, wanting to go back to the bedroom and wait until Crane had done his deals, then shout at him. She jumped when she saw the thug with the brass knuckles in the door, watching her with a cold look. His eyes were brown and his short hair had a dyed grey colour. Raven shuddered and edged around him, walking back into the living room, where Crane and the other guy were talking business.

,, Five grands for the lot." the guy said. Crane chuckled darkly.

,, Seven per bag, deal closed." the gorilla followed Raven like a shadow, making her uncomfortable.

,, You have got to be kiddin' me."

,, If you don't want the drugs, you can go. I have several other buyers waiting." Raven rolled her eyes again, it was like a bad gangster movie. She aimed for the door to the bedroom, but the gorilla on the left stepped in front of her, cutting her off.

,, Oh, I want the drugs." the guy in the couch said, Crane's eyes momentarily flinching to Raven.

,, But, eh, I don't think I need to pay that much for them. So I propose a deal;" the guy behind her grabbed Raven's left arm and wrung it to her back and forced her up to the couch, Raven exclaiming in surprise and pain. The other gorilla grabbed Raven's right wrist and forced her hand down on the back of the couch, pulling out a switchblade and flicking it open. Maybe Raven hated gun, but the one thing she hated more was knives. She swallowed and tried to pull away.

,, either you sell the drugs for five grand, or your pretty girlfriend loses her five fingers." the blade got placed on Raven's ring finger, Raven twitching under the cold touch of the steel against her skin.

_Knives..._

,, Let her go." Crane said coldly, his eyes moving between the guy in front of him and Raven.

,, The drugs or her fingers; your choice." Raven prepared herself for living a life without fingers on her right hand; maybe her and Sue could start a club?

,, Deal. Five grands." Raven's eyes grew three times as big as before when she heard Crane. The guy in the couch gave a smug grin and reached in over the table to shake Crane's hand.

,, See? I knew we'd come to an agreement." Crane leaned over and took the guy's hand, shaking it before grabbing his arm and pulling him over the table, making the plastic bags scramble to the floor, twisting him around and locking one arm around his neck and holding his hand up to his face, baring his wrist and the wires of the gas. The thug who held the knife to Raven's finger moved in shock, nicking the skin and made Raven bleed in a small ruby drop, causing her to twitch.

,, Try calming yourself." Crane said, his cool eyes boring their way into hers.

,, If your heat begins beating faster, you might get a relapse from the toxin." the guy with the knife placed the blade against her throat, making Raven gulp. Yeah, _now _she could relax...!

,, Come on, pal, I'm sure we can talk this over..." the guy tried before Crane tightened his grip around his neck.

,, You make your thugs let her go, then we can go back to the payment, which I believe was seven thousand per bag?" the guy looked angry, then nodded furiously.

,, Yeah, yeah, seven grands...!" he looked at the two gorillas, who were standing patiently and waiting for what to do now.

,, Let go of the bitch, guys, we're going to do this the nice way." they seemed very unhappy about that, but the knife got removed from her throat and Raven tried to steady her heartbeat.

Then the guy with the knife grabbed her right wrist again and pressed the edge of the blade down into her palm, slicing open a thick cut in her hand before letting her go. Raven choked a scream of pain and pulled free from the other guy, grabbing her injured hand with her good one, moving swiftly away from the thugs.

,, Just so you know we're not kidding." the guy with the knife said, grinning at Raven before wiping the blade in his trousers. Raven glared at the guy through a billowing vision, tears blinding her before blinking them away. She caught Crane's eyes, who looked at her with something she couldn't define, before nodding in the direction towards the bathroom, letting go of the guy and glaring angrily at the thugs.

,, So, eight thousand per bag, was it?"

,, Seven."

,, That was before you cut my business partner..." Raven didn't hear the rest, she just closed the door to the bathroom and locked it, switching on the light in the windowless room and turning on the water in the sink. She wiped some tears away with her left hand, then held her injured one in under the water, biting back a sob. She was tired of knives, of blood and idiots cutting her... She cursed when the water in the tap turned red and thick, the toxin beginning to give her hallucinations. Still, even though both maggots and rotten water was gushing from the tap, she kept her hand under the water, needing the wound to clean.

After some minutes a door slammed and Raven closed her eyes, begging for the idiots to be gone.

A polite knock sounded on the door.

,, Miss Scarrow? Are you all right?"

,, Go away..." Raven said, her voice sounded choked and tearful. She looked at herself in the mirror; her eyes were slightly red and her right side was bleeding again, but she ignored it. Images, nothing more.

,, How about opening the door? I think you need some help dressing your wound." Raven flickered a maggot away from her open wound.

,, No."

,, Well, you need the bandages anyway." Raven turned off the water and looked at the cut, which was rotting and growing deeper before her eyes. Then she sighed and unlocked the door, stepping out of the bathroom and scowling at Crane, who now had removed his stupid mask.

,, Let me see." he gingerly took her hand and looked at the cut, making a small face and smiling comfortingly at her.

,, Let us get that closed up in a hurry, eh?" Raven couldn't believe Crane had just said 'eh', but she kept her mouth shut.

,, It won't stop bleeding, but if I spill something on your floor, it's your own fault." he helped her over and sat her down in the chair, then produced a roll of white bandage and a small bottle of hydrogen peroxide.

,, This may hurt a bit." he said as he knelt down beside her and screwed the lid off the plastic bottle. Raven closed her eyes and hissed through her teeth when the acid burned against her tender cut, Crane looking at it with a medical eye.

,, It doesn't need stitches, does it?" Raven was _not _going back to the hospital.

,, No, I think you can do without it." he placed a cotton patch on the cut and began wrapping it.

,, Well, at least we are not using vodka this time." he smiled and wrapped up the bandage.

,, More's the pity, I could do with a drink." Raven said and wiped some tears away, ignoring the burn in her side. Still, she twitched from the pain.

,, The toxin?" Crane asked. Raven gave a slight nod. Crane got up and looked her into the eyes.

,, You're amazing." he said. Raven choked something.

,, I believe you are one of the first persons who doesn't react to the toxin." he turned around and walked to the bedroom.

,, Congratulations." he came back with Raven's box of money in one hand.

,, Hey." Raven was about to get up, but Crane but the box down on the coffee table, where the drug were now gone and replaced by a blue plasticbag. He opened the bag and Raven gawked at all the money.

,, How much is that?" she asked when Crane picked up two bundles of money, each of them wrapped with a rubber band.

,, Oh, two thousand dollars." Raven looked in silent awe at the money in Crane's hand, she had never seen so many in one place. And, to her further amazement, Crane removed the lid of the shoebox and put the two bundles down between Raven's savings.

,, These should help you to get a good start wherever you decide to go." he smiled at her again and Raven felt something move inside her, and she didn't think it was a worm, beetle or fly.

,, Uh... thanks..." Crane shrugged and got back up.

,, So, when will you be leaving?" Raven looked at her hand and then at the money.

,, Uhm, I think I'll leave tomorrow. You know, just so I can recover a bit." to her surprise, Crane didn't protest or anything like that.

,, Good. But I'm afraid that you are in for a day locked away here, can't really risk getting seen outside." Raven shrugged and looked Crane in the eyes.

,, Cool, I need to relax a bit anyway."

,, So..." Crane sat down again, a teasing grin creeping over his face.

,,... how about a round of 20 Questions?" Raven couldn't help it when she laughed.

**Yeah, I know: Fairly odd to write I'm not going to update for a while, and then post a chapter the next day... But, I fell asleep in the middle of the day, so I just couldn't sleep at night, so I began writing... Again, sorry for the lenght of the chapter:D **

**R&R honeyloves!:D Air kisses for EVERYONE!**


	15. Chapter 15

Love-hate relationship.

Raven flipped the page in her book and sighed, trying to ignore the growling in her stomach. It was around midday and she hadn't eaten, but Crane said it still was too dangerous for them to go outside. Luckily, she had brought a book along, lying on the couch and making sure Crane didn't see the cover.

_The World's Greatest Love Poems. He'd laugh his ass off. _

,, So, we can't go out in the day, because someone may recognize us. And we can't go out at night, because you're afraid Batman might come and get you..." Crane looked up from the medical book he was reading, taking notes from time to time.

,,... so when can we leave?"

,, 'we'?"

,, You know what I mean."

,, Well..." Crane looked at his watch.

,,... it's about lunchtime now. I think we can venture out into the roaring masses of Gotham." he closed his book and got up, Raven looking him from top to bottom.

,, Aren't you going to change?" he arched an eyebrow and looked down, as if he expected to find a patch of grime on his clothes.

,, Why?"

,, Well..." Raven ran a hand through her hair.

,,... you just look so formal. Don't you own a pair of jeans?" Crane's lips curled into an amused smile.

,, Jeans?"

,, Or anything like that. You tend to dress... well, rather boring."

,, Boring?"

,, Yeah, like you're going to work at the office."

,, Well, one of us, at a least, have to keep up a professional appearance."

,, What, like the way you dress is gonna change things? That you one day wake up and then "wauw, I'm not a mental case on the run, I have a job at Arkham and I'm respected by everyone. Good thing I didn't throw my good suit away."?" Crane looked at her, still smiling, but the smile had turned cold.

,, Besides, you're easily recognizable in that there. Jeans are more... anonymous." Crane looked at her for a minute or so, realizing she was actually right. Then he sighed, beaten to the ground, then turned and disappeared into his room, closing the door shut after him.

Raven sighed, wondering if she had somehow offended Crane, and then returned to her book.

_The Clod and the Pebble by _

_William Blake (1757-1827)  _

_Love seeketh not Itself to please, _

_Nor for itself hath any care; _

_But for another gives its ease, _

_And builds a Heaven in Hells despair.  _

_So sang a little Clod of Clay, _

_Trodden with the cattle's feet; _

_But a Pebble of... _

The door opened again and Raven looked up, her jaw dropping to her chest when Crane walked back in. His blue jacket was now gone and the blue trousers of his suit had been replaced by a pair of old jeans in a faded blue colour, his white shirt tucked into them by habit.

,, Better?" he asked, turning around so Raven could get a proper look at him from all angles.

,, Wow." Raven said and laughed slightly, her brows creasing with wonder.

,, Crane never told me he had a casual twin."

,, Well, he keeps me locked away in the closet mostly." Crane smiled.

,, I wonder why." she grinned teasingly.

,, Turn around, I wanna check out your butt."

,, I'm sorry?" Crane looked confused, to put it mildly. It was not something he heard on a daily basis.

,, You heard me; turn around." he did but looked over his shoulder at Raven.

,, Since when was I reduced to a boy toy?"

,, It comes with the trousers. Funny, you actually have a good tush." Crane turned around again, face red with mortification.

,, But you never see that when you're wearing those suit ones." Raven liked to tease, but she was lying. Crane didn't have a good tush; he had a GREAT one.

,, One other thing;"

,, Do I really want to know that?"

,, Lose the tie." Crane looked like Raven had asked him to jump out the window.

,, When you were a child, did your parents ever give you any dolls to play dress up with?"

,, You still look formal. Lose the tie and we got a date." her cheeks got a slightly red glow to them. Crane noticed how attractive it made her look. Then he loosened his tie and threw it in the chair.

,, You still look..." Raven took some time, searching for the word whilst holding her book to her chest, shielding the cover with the silver letters from Crane's eyes.

,,... Crane-ish." she sat and thought for some time, biting her lower lip slightly. Then an idea popped up in her head, like a light bulb in a cartoon.

,, I got it." she announced and got up, walking into the bedroom and dragging her bag out again. She rummaged through the clothes, pulling out a long grey skirt.

Crane's eyes almost pooped out in their sockets.

,, Don't look like that, grey's not your colour." Raven said and pulled a dark blue t-shirt out.

,, Who brings a skirt along when they are on the run?"

,, I do. Try wearing this under your shirt, then you'll look like every other person in Gotham."

,, I do not wish nor care for looking like every other person in Gotham, miss Scarrow." Crane said when Raven handed him the t-shirt. Well, at least it was a male's shirt.

,, You can preach integrity after lunch, I'm starving!" she walked over and took the skirt and threw it back into the bag, keeping her back turned at Crane while he changed.

,, There." he said and she turned back round. And laughed slightly, covering her smile with her hand while looking at Crane.

,, Oh, pull yourself together, am I really that out of character?" Raven shook her head.

,, No. Not at all, you look great." her smile spread wider.

,, Although, you might want to pull your shirt from the jeans. You look like a teenager who hasn't quite got the hang of dressing yet." Crane began, very slowly and slightly embarrassed, to pull his shirt from his trousers. Now he actually looked anonymous.

,, Top notch." Raven said and gave Crane two thumbs up.

,, So, I guess it's the other way round now and I am to choose your wardrobe?" Raven shook her head.

,, Ain't gonna happen, Jonny."

,, Is that fair, all things considered? I mean..." he looked down himself again, like he couldn't comprehend it really was him.

,,... I _am _wearing jeans."

,, Yeah, but that's because you're so easy to fool. I'm going as I am." she quickly snatched her book and hid it in her bag as well, pulling out a pair of black sunglasses.

,, With one alteration, that is." she flashed him a grin and put the glasses on.

,, Great. A blind woman and her fashion geek friend. We won't look different at all...!"

,, Stop moping, we look perfectly average." she pulled out fifty dollars from her bag and stuffed them in her back pocket.

,, That's what I'm worried about." Crane muttered as they walked to the door.

,, Oh, and we need to call each other something else than what we usually do." Raven said in the hall on their way to the elevator. Crane raised an eyebrow again.

,, Well, Crane and Scarrow... We'll be asking for the cops to show up. So from now on, you're Jonny." Crane rolled his eyes.

,, Come on, you won't die of calling me Raven for one meal...!"

,, As to you, calling me by my full name isn't that much of a bother either."

,, Jonny is more anonymous than Jonathan. Raven, however, is a perfectly neutral and cool name, not something people really stops to think about." the elevator doors hummed open and they got in, Crane pressing the button to the ground floor.

,, Raven." Crane muttered to himself, almost looking irate. Raven stuck her hands in her pockets and looked at him for a second or two.

,, Jonathan." she said. Crane-Jonathan- turned his head and looked at her. Raven shrugged.

,, I guess it won't kill me calling you that either. Consider it payment for using you as a boy toy." she titled her head and smiled sweetly at him. Jonathan's lips curled into a soft smile.

,, So, no 'Jonny Honey' for a whole meal?"

,, I'll grab some fast-food, Jonny Honey." Raven grinned.

,, Jonny Bunny, Sunny Jonny, Funny Jonny... I could go on for ever, so consider yourself lucky."

,, Believe me, I do." the elevator stopped and the doors opened and Jonathan and Raven got out, Raven feeling slightly lost since she could hardly remember where she was, since Jonathan had dragged her along last time.

,, Where are we?" she asked when they walked out on the streets, both of them keeping their heads down by habit.

,, Does it matter?" Jonathan asked. And Raven realised it didn't and settled for looking for a place to eat.

*

,, Uh, eggs over easy, toast, a cup of coffee and..." Raven licked her bottom lip.

,,... a really big slice of blueberry pie, please." she grinned up at the waitress, who nodded and wrote the order down while munching on her fruit flavoured gum.

,, Sure thing, hon." she turned to Jonathan, who was resting his chin on one hand and looked at the scenery with a surreal expression.

,, Anythin' for you, honey?" Raven chocked a laugh. Jonathan glared at her, then looked at the waitress.

,, Coffee." he said coolly. The waitress looked at him for a heartbeat or two, waiting for more to come.

,, Give him some pancakes; I'm going to stand his company the rest of the day, so he needs to have eaten." Raven said, smiling again. Jonathan wondered if she was being friendly as a charade or if she always treated "normal" people like that.

,, 'kay, I'll be down with your food in a sec." the waitress smiled and was gone, back to the kitchens most likely.

,, What are we doing here?" Jonathan asked the second they were alone. Raven titled her head and smiled again, Jonathan seeing his mirrored reflection in her black glasses.

,, Having breakfast." she answered.

,, I know, but what are we doing..." he looked around.

,,... _here_?"

,, What?" Raven looked at the diner, her eyes running over the signed Elvis poster and the old advertisements from the fifties.

,, It's got charm."

,, It's got cholesterol." Jonathan argued back and ran a finger along the counter of the table they were sitting at.

,, This whole place is _covered _in grease...!"

,, I know; karma food." Jonathan furrowed his brows.

,, Food you feel good about _today_, but regret having eaten _tomorrow_."

,, In that case, this is Nirvana." Jonathan leaned back against the wall of the small booth they were sitting in.

,, We'll get heart attacks by simply breathing." he said. Raven hardly listened, she was busy looking at some old posters, looking like the American Dream on paper.

,, Do you think they'll refuse to serve us if we tell them we support gay rights?" she asked, an almost childish wondering to her voice. An everyday philosopher.

,, We do." Jonathan said. Raven shrugged.

,, Yeah, but still..." then she stopped and looked Jonathan deeply in the eyes. Well, as deeply as she could with her sunglasses.

,, You support gay people?" Jonathan shrugged and began studying the laminated menu, wondering if there was anything on it which wasn't soaked in frying oil.

,, I do not care for other peoples sexualities. It is entirely their own matter, who am I to judge?"

,, You sure you're not Crane's twin?" Raven asked.

,, Why is there any doubt?"

,, Because the guy I talked to yesterday _loves _to dissect people.

Psychologically." she quickly added.

,, I find dissecting them the other way is much easier, I agree, but poking around their minds is more entertaining." Raven almost dropped her jaw.

,, You dissect people?!" she almost shouted.

,, I have done my fair share of... cutting patients open. And please try to keep that voice of yours down." Raven face twisted into something between fascination and disgust.

,, That's... wow, that's really creepy, even for you."

,, Insult, comment or compliment?"

,, All of it." then the waitress returned with their food and Raven grinned a 'thanks' before digging in to the meal. She grabbed a greasy fork and knife from a plastic jar on the table, wiped the sticky oil off on her trousers and began eating, reminding Jonathan of a documentary he had once seen on television about wolves. He looked down at his own breakfast and sighed; he would almost prefer the paste they served at Arkham. Then he looked at Raven again, who had now slowed down and decided to make the rest of the coffee and the ridiculously big slice of blueberry pie last.

,, How can you even eat that?" he asked and prodded the rubbery pancakes with his own fork, nodding at the pie.

,, Because it's delicious. Give the pancakes a try, they can't be that bad." Jonathan looked at his plate again.

,, This isn't pancakes with syrup, it's syrup with pancakes."

,, Waily, waily. Get eating." cautiously, Jonathan cut a small bite from the glossy syrup mountain with his fork and chewed like it could explode. Then he gagged and grabbed his untouched coffee and drank half of it in one mouthful, the acidy taste of it rinsing his mouth from the sticky-sweet syrup.

,, You okay?" Raven asked, having finished the pie and was now leaning back against the booth wall, sipping her coffee slowly.

,, This is one of the worst things I've ever tasted...!"

,, Too bad, you need to eat." Raven said smugly. Jonathan felt like knocking his head against the counter, but settled fro groaning miserably and, slowly, took another bite. It was so sweet he could actually feel his teeth rotting in his mouth, but he kept on eating.

,, Brave little soldier." Raven teased.

,, This... is... disgusting...!" he croaked. Raven leaned in over the table, speaking silently so Jonathan would be the only one hearing her.

,, You can't mean that, after Arkham this is a feast...!"

,, I've begun to miss Arkham..." he sighed and took another bite.

When they were done eating, Raven and Jonathan paid separately and walked out into Gotham once more, wandering aimlessly around, not wanting to return to the apartment just yet...

,, And how is your hand?" they were walking around in one of the parks in the upper crust neighbourhood. All around them people were jogging, children were running and chasing each other with plastic medieval or laser swords. Raven shrugged.

,, It's fine, I guess."

,, Either it feels better or it doesn't." he said.

,, Yeah well, I don't have that much experience with people cutting me, so..." Raven could have bitten her tongue off when she heard herself say what she just said.

,, Except for that lovely scar in your side." Raven pursed her lips and clenched her fists, her right one with a bit of trouble, and looked down at the ground she was walking on.

,, I crossed a line?" he asked.

,, You don't really care about lines, do you?" she spat and stuck her hands in her pockets. Jonathan reached out and touched her elbow with the tips of his fingers.

,, Sorry." he said. It was a short, simple word, and it came from Jonathan "Scarecrow" Crane, so Raven didn't really know how much that small gesture meant, but she didn't bite back, just pulled her arm away from his touch and walked on.

,, Do you want to talk about it?" he offered.

,, When you try to pry information about me to your notes, try wrapping it up a bit." Raven growled and walked around a young couple, holding hands and sweettalking, Jonathan following her with agile steps. He ran up beside her and she crossed her arms, not looking up from the ground.

,, Does it occur to you that I am still trying to comfort you? Talking about things that upset you should be very calming."

,, God, you're so sweet, you know that? Wanting to make sure I'm fine and I always have someone to talk to, not at all because you want to make notes about me and analyze what combination of medicine would be best providing me with...!" she tried to walk further on, but Jonathan cut in front of her and stopped her.

,, Listen to me;" he took her by the shoulders and looked into her sunglasses.

,, I'm sorry for what I said, understood? I know that even when I try to act..."

,, Human."

,,... nice, I somehow manage to come of..."

,, As an utter bastard."

,,... a little medical and emotionless at times." Raven opened her mouth to say he always did that, but Jonathan managed to get the last word.

,, However, I will try to be... un-Crane-ish, from time to time." he gave her that smile again.

,, Or I'll try."

,, Wow. And now that you've been so nice to make a promise like that to me, I am to promise you something similar, like talking about my past?" she shoved him violently aside and walked on.

,, Fucking nice of you, Jonny." Jonathan groaned and ran after Raven again, catching up with her incredibly fast. Maybe he had taken up running as a teenager?

,, Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait...!" he stopped her again.

,, Where did we go wrong? Not two hours ago we were sitting and enjoying a... relatively good meal, and now we are fighting again." Jonathan could have sworn Raven's eyes were burning through the dark glass, like a dragon's from a faerie tale, and he wondered if he should step back. Like a mile or two back.

,, I think we "went wrong", as you put it, the second you started to play Friendly Doctor again."

,, So, you wouldn't like me to... be nice to you?" he sounded confused.

,, No, I do like you being ni..." she stopped herself.

,, It's the pretending that annoys me. I know you're not being nice to me because you want to, you're just doing it to pry little bits of information from me, it's just you playing charades." she pulled her glasses off and their eyes finally met, but Jonathan found himself wishing they hadn't; Raven had a look that would, in a story or even a movie, kill.

,, And after all this time, I'm fucking sick of people pretending." she finished and walked around him again, their shoulders knocking against each other with a mean thud. Jonathan closed his eyes and pressed the bridge of his nose with thumb and forefinger, then turned around and followed Raven at a distance. She had pulled her glasses back on again and looked like a small, yet very power- and painful- thunderstorm. He made a mental note about handling her with care.

,, How about the two of us somehow manage to find our way back to the apartment?" he asked casually.

The _apartment, not _my _apartment... I was right, it's not a home. _Raven thought to herself and shrugged.

,, Can't really see any point in running around out here anymore." she mumbled. Jonathan nodded and they began walking.

When they reached the building where Jonathan once had lived, he tried being a gentleman and held the door for Raven, but she glowered meanly at him and walked in without noticing his act. The ride in the elevator was silent and pressured, Raven clenching and unclenching her right hand, looking at the bandage in silence. When they walked down the hall, she pulled off her glasses and ran her fingers through her hair, sighing and closing her eyes.

,, So, I was wondering if I could grab a shower? If it's not too much of a bother, I'd like to fresh up a bit." Jonathan opened the door and let Raven walk in first.

,, Of course. You help yourself and take as long as you fancy. I don't think I have any conditioner lying around, but..."

,, Do I need it?" Raven asked and crossed her arms over her chest, cocking her head and raising an eyebrow. Jonathan groaned.

,, No, sorry, slip of the tongue." they walked further into the apartment and Raven threw her sunglasses on the table. She was obviously happy to be rid of them.

,, You can borrow a towel, if you like." Jonathan announced and sat down in the chair, picking up his books again and ignoring Raven completely. She looked at him for a second or two, then turned and walked out into the bathroom. The lock clicked after her. When Jonathan heard the water getting turned on, he waited for another minute or so, then got up from his seat and walked to where Raven had left her bag. He was curious to see which book it was she had been trying to hide from him. He knelt down and began digging through her clothes in search of the book.

_**Just imagine her standing out there, her long hair all soaked and her body all...**_

_That is not something to think about. _sometimes, Jonathan's darker side rose to the surface and he had to keep it at bay. One of the small side effects from the toxin; when his rage took over, it really did a good job. Not like he was schizophrenic or anything even remotely like that; more like he was a teenager and he had so many different emotions taking control of his mind.

_**Oh, c'mon, Jonny Honey...! It's not like you're not going mad thinking about her right now. Besides, you were the one who couldn't keep your eyes off her when she was showering back in her apartment, I had nothing to do with that.**_

_I was admiring her scar. _

_**Sure you were...! **_

_**Now, come on! One little peek wouldn't do any harm, it's not like you've never done it before.**_

_I am not listening to this. _Jonathan touched the soft fabric of the grey skirt Raven had brought along and smiled to himself.

_In any case, she has locked the door..._

_**Like that'd ever stop you...! Go on, before she done! **_

_Got it._

_**An idea on how to break down the door without your little sweetheart noticing?**_

_Miss Scarrow and I are not involved in any sort of relationship, apart from companions in misery, so I would prefer if you'd stick to the facts. And no, I was talking about the book._

_**The way you look at her when she isn't watching you doesn't seem like misery to me. And you almost killed your buyer this morning, just because one of his gorillas cut her... You've begun to care for her.**_

_I am not going to listen to you; out of the two of us, you are the only one even the slightest bit attracted by her._

_**You forget something, Jonny Honey: We're both the same. Literally.**_

_I do not care for Raven, only for her crime record._

_**How long do you think you can fool her with that? Or fool yourself for that matter. And I thought you preferred to call her "Miss Scarrow"? **_

But Jonathan wasn't listening; he was crouching on the floor with Raven's book in one hand, looking at the title. He grinned and got up and walked to the window and leaned against the windowsill, reading a poem the book had opened up on.

_She Walks In Beauty by _

_Lord Byron (1788-1824)_

_She walks in beauty, like the night _

_Of cloudless climes and starry skies;_

_And all that's best of dark and bright_

_Meet in her aspect and her eyes:_

_Thus mellow'd to that tender light_

_Which heaven to gaudy day denies._

_One shade the more, one ray the less,_

_Had half impair'd the nameless grace_

_Which waves in every raven tress,_

_Or softly lightens o'er her face;_

_Where thoughts serenely sweet express_

_How pure, how dear their dwelling place._

_And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,_

_So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,_

_The smiles that win, the tints that glow,_

_But tell of days in goodness spent,_

_A mind at peace with all below,_

_A heart whose love is innocent!_

_**Had half impair'd the nameless grace**_

_**Which waves in every **__**raven**__** tress,**_

_**Or softly lightens o'er her face;**_

_**Reminds you of someone? **_

_Silence yourself, I'm merely surprised to find a trace of an romantic in her._

_**I bet you are. **_Jonathan touched the page carefully, as if feeling the ink under his fingers would give him an image of how Lord Byron's love had looked like, but it left him with nothing. Then he noticed the photograph Raven had hidden from him, tree pages further into the book, put out of sight so that he would not find it. He looked at the younger Raven again and then looked at the t-shirt she was wearing, then at the one he himself was wearing. It was the same. Imagine that.

_**I think she likes you too, you know.**_

_She doesn't care anymore for me than I do for her._

_**That much, huh? Kissy-kissy. Speaking of that, how do you think it's like to kiss her? **_

_Truth to be told, I haven't thought about that._

_**You were the one starting this thought, which means you have thought it too. and you are the one who always looks at her lips while she talks. Admit it, you like her! **_

Jonathan had no time to answer, for in the same second, the door to the bathroom opened and Raven stepped out, her long dark hair hanging down over her back and drenching her shirt. Her skin was still moist from the shower and she looked slightly happier than when Jonathan last time had seen her. That quickly changed though, when she saw him standing with her book and her photograph in his hands. She angrily rushed forward and snatched her belongings from him, Jonathan not even flinching.

,, You're so fucking amazing, Crane...! No it's my own fault, I shouldn't have left my stuff out here with you, it's like leaving Joker with a chainsaw!" she threw her belongings back into her bag and zipped it furiously. Jonathan noticed that she had removed the bandages from her right hand, and a freshly pink cut showed for the world to see.

,, God, I'm so stupid...!" she cursed herself and turned back to Jonathan.

,, You know, I think it would be best if I left now, before you're going to analyse what type of cereal that's my favourite. Keep the shirt, I don't know if I want it back." she grabbed her glasses and stuck them in her pocket, the slung her bag over her shoulder and walked for the door. Jonathan stood paralysed for a second or two, then raced after her and grabbed her by the arms.

,, Let go!" she shouted angrily and Jonathan did, only to press a hand down over her mouth.

,, Hush yourself, before someone hears you!" he hissed and grabbed her right wrist and held her hand up where he could see it and the daylight outside shone over her cut.

,, I think we need to give you some fresh bandages." he said, more to himself than to her. Raven tugged her arm free and looked at him disbelieving.

,, You're a fucking freakshow. I'm leaving, sorry to end your game." she turned around again, but Jonathan grabbed her arm and wrung it to her back. Raven choked a cry of pain as he pulled her back into the living room.

,, Stop being so stubborn, you need help." he murmured and dragged her to the couch, where he sat her down.

,, Fucking same to you." Raven announced and tried to stand back up, but Jonathan pushed her back down.

,, Sit still." he ordered.

,, Like I'd ever listen to you." Raven tried to get up again, but this time Jonathan grabbed her right hand in his and dug his thumb down into her cut. Raven flinched and tried to pull free but it was useless and all she could do was curse Jonathan, when blood began running from her fresh cut. He shoved her back down and let her go, Raven sitting on her knees on the couch and carefully touching her painful cut with cautious fingers.

,, There." he said and took the peroxide bottle from the table.

,, Hold out your hand." he ordered. Raven just sat in the couch and glared at him. He grabbed her wrist and forced her hand open again, pouring a little too generous an amount of the acid on her cut. Raven hissed and tried to pull free, but a crazy person has the strength of ten. It was more of a fight to get Raven to keep her hand still long enough for him to bandage it, but he finally managed to do it, if not a little loose fitting. He loosened his grip and Raven pulled free, sitting in the couch and glaring at Jonathan out through her dark locks.

,, You're such a freak." she spat. Jonathan chuckled and leaned back in the chair.

,, You do say that often."

,, Yeah, you're not exactly trying to convince me otherwise." she crossed her arms and huddled down in the corner of the couch. Her chest was rising and falling angrily, her mind racing to plan an escape.

,, Now don't get all emotional, it's awfully uncomfortable to watch." her eyes narrowed.

,, Shut. The fuck. Up." she spat. Jonathan chuckled again, got up and leaned closer to her, grinning sweetly as he caught her eyes with his.

,, You really do need to improve your language, miss Scarrow." Raven hardly listened, she was weighing her options, thanking herself for having put her sneakers back on after she had showered. She would have to leave her bag, but books and clothes could be replaced. She would have to leave her photo and her money... Unless...

,, I don't feel so good." she announced and did her best to look like a weak and feeble woman. Jonathan was still silent.

,, Could I..." she licked her lips.

,, Could I get some water? Please?" he looked at her for dangerously long, but then pulled away and walked out into the kitchen. Raven quickly jumped for her bag and pulled out the photo and opened the shoebox, scooping money into her pockets along with the picture.

,, Feeling queasy?" Jonathan asked when he walked back with a glass of water in one hand. Raven quickly wrapped her arms around her ribs and nodded slightly.

,, I would hate to sound wise after the event, but that is what you get when you devour half a sugary blueberry pie." she got to her feet and took the water, nodding a thanks before she emptied it.

,, Maybe you should sit down again?" Jonathan asked. Raven nodded and he helped her back to the couch. Raven titled her head and wrapped her arms around Jonathan's neck, causing him to stiffen like a statue.

,, And what happens when you devour a plate of syrupy pancakes?" she asked and smiled softly, a lock of her hair falling down over her face and making her look... Jonathan couldn't really find a word to describe it.

,, Well..." he moved a hand up and stroked the tress away behind her ear, his hands staying on her cheek seconds too long.

,,... I suppose I'll have a roaring headache tomorrow." he leaned closer and carefully pressed his lips against her forehead, then moved up and kissed her damp hair again and again, small light kisses. Raven closed her eyes and leaned into his embrace, when his arms shakingly wrapped around her waist.

,, Promise me you wont run off again." he whispered, almost begging.

,, Not even if I wanted to." she said, her voice muffled from talking through his collar and their hold.

Raven's mind was screaming at her.

_Go on, it's time for you to make your move! _but it was difficult for her to do so.

,, Your hair's so soft..." he whispered, his cheek resting against her head and his eyes half closed.

,, So's yours." Raven said when her fingers moved up and dug trough his dark hair, twirling locks of it around them. Jonathan closed his eyes completely. Raven fingered with her loose bandage and it unravelled and she wrapped its free end around her left hand...

,, Jonathan?" he pulled back and looked her in the eyes, nervous that he might have done something wrong.

_Please don't look at me that way... _Raven thought.

,, Is something wrong?" he asked, his arms around her easing their hold. Then Raven closed her eyes and quickly lifted her arms and the bandage over his head, then wrapped it tightly around his neck. Jonathan chocked and began gasping for air, his short nails digging into her sides as Raven pulled free from him, pulling the bandage from her right hands whilst still strangling Jonathan with it. She moved backwards when he fell to his knees, clawing at the "noose" and eyeing murder at Raven. She looked down at him, then at the path from the living room to the door.

,, Sorry." she whispered and let go of the bandage and ran from freedom, leaving Jonathan on the floor behind her. He managed to pull the gauze away from its tightening grip around his neck and got up, all sane thoughts leaving his mind as he followed Raven. Only one word was racing in his mind:

Kill.

He only stopped to grab something from his briefcase, then followed.

Raven raced down the hall of the building and almost slammed into the doors of the elevator, pushing the button franticly and cursing under her breath.

,, Come on, come on, come on...!" she hissed before looking around, seeing and infuriated Jonathan Crane racing after her.

,, Fuck!" Raven cursed the elevator and slammed her right hand down on the button one final time before running for the stairs of the building. But, just as her fingers grazed the door to the staircase, Jonathan grabbed her from behind and pressed a hand over her mouth, choking any cry for help that she might utter. Raven moved her hands back and tried to scratch Jonathan in the face, but his free hand moved up and the point of a syringe needle pierced a special spot in her neck and her movements grew heavy and clumsy, before she fell backwards. Jonathan stepped back and let her fall to the floor, the back of her head knocking against the carpeted flooring. He didn't really care if she got hurt.

_**Go on: Kill her! **_

_**SHUT UP!**_

_**What, she hurt your precious feelings?**_

_**SHUT UP! **_

_**Don't worry, you'll get over her in time.**_

,, _Shut up!_" he said and knocked his hands against his head, wanting all the voices and feelings to stop! Just stop.

He got to his knees beside Raven, running his hands rapidly through his hair, touching Raven's cold cheek with the back of his hand. Her chest was rising and falling slowly and steady and her face flinching from time to time.

Jonathan didn't know whether to cry from joy or misery. But he never was the great person for crying, so he settled for crouching on the floor and watching her for a minute or two, then picked her up and carried her back, feeling like something inside him had been broken in two.


	16. Chapter 16

**For some odd reason, the computer won't accept my disclaimer… I do not own neither William Blake nor Lord Byron, though I would very much love to.**

**Reviews are like strawberry jam and a cup of tea:D**

**Sorry for making it look like there was two chapters so soon. My exams are nearly over though:)**


	17. Chapter 17

Scars.

Raven could feel her mind drifting in and out of consciousness and dreams, not knowing which was which. Sometimes her eyes opened and she saw blurry images of things she forgot the second her lids slid back down, sometimes she heard sounds she thought sounded like voices, but they faded even before they came. She could feel herself walking, or her legs trying to walk, and she felt someone beside her, helping her whenever she stumbled over her own feet. The world was a billowing mass of sounds, feelings, voices, expressions, whispers and darkness.

She didn't know for how long she kept on walking, it could have been hours, days or seconds, but she felt how her blackouts began growing more and more distant and how reality began rocking her in its arms again. The person beside her shushed her when she groaned and a soft hand stroked her hair.

,, Just for another minute or so, then you can relax." a voice murmured in her ear. Raven felt tired and she didn't want to keep on the stupid walking, so she tried to shove herself away from the person beside her, even though it was no good.

,, Good, one more step. And another. One more. Again. And again." the person said each time Raven managed to drag her concrete foot another inch.

Ten minutes or so later she was beginning to pick up details of the world around her.

She was back in Jonathan's apartment, walking around and around in it, leaning heavily against Jonathan who was walking beside her. Outside the evening was growing and the lights from the city illuminated the room. Jonathan looked at her and helped her take two more steps.

,, Can you manage to walk back to the window?" he asked. Raven nodded and Jonathan let go off her, taking away the only mean of balance she had had. She swayed dangerously for a heartbeat but she managed to keep herself upright.

,, One step, there's no rush." Jonathan said. Raven took one quivering step and immediately fell forward, shutting her eyes tightly and waiting for her body to connect with the floor. Instead Jonathan's slim arms caught her and he helped her stand back up. Raven found it difficult to look in his eyes, she felt slightly guilty. Besides, if she looked at him, she might begin to feel her knees go soft again, like they had when he had begged her to stay.

,, Try again." he said. Slowly Raven took another step and kept her balance, wondering how many hours Jonathan had robbed her of with all the times he had knocked her out.

,, Good. One more." she took another step. And another. And another. She somehow managed to walk across the room to the window, where she leaned against the sill and rested her burning cheek against the cool glass of the window.

Jonathan walked up and took her by the shoulders and turned her around, studying her eyes closely before pinching her arm and letting go of her again.

,, You should be fine, but try to keep awake."

,, Why?" Raven almost groaned, she was dizzy and tired.

,, If you fall asleep, you might die." her eyes shot open, focused, found Jonathan's blue eyes in the twilight.

,, What?"

,, I gave you too much. If you fall asleep I can't answer for the consequences."

,, You can't be serious...! What the hell was that?" she asked ad rubbed the sore spot where the needle had entered.

,, Something of my own invention. I'm quite handy with chemicals." Raven didn't know what to answer. She looked at him, disbelieving, for a silent moment, then looked away. The way he looked at her made something inside her hurt.

She jumped up and sat herself in the windowsill, resting her back against the left side and looked out at Gotham. No one spoke.

,, Will you ever let me go?" Raven said after a pressured silence, Jonathan sitting in the chair and watching her closely. She turned her head and looked at him. He didn't answer. She pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on her knees and looked back out the window again. She only vaguely noticed that he had bandaged her cut again, neat and white and doctorly the gauze shone around her hand. She felt uncomfortable with Jonathan watching her intently, but she somehow knew that if she asked him to stop, he wouldn't.

,, Just tell me." Jonathan said, his voice smooth, clever and calm. Raven knew without asking what he was talking about.

,, Why are you so fucking interested?" she asked tiredly and turned her head back to look at him, eyes glowing like fire. He didn't answer that either. Raven turned away again and closed her eyes, not sleeping, not knowing if she could ever sleep with the promise of death hovering above her head. Jonathan really knew how to take the pleasure out of the simplest joys in life!

*

The silence was unbearable. It had been an hour since Raven had perched herself in the window

_Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,_

_In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore._

_Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;_

_But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -_

_Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -_

_Perched, and sat, and nothing more. _

Raven recited bitterly in her mind. And not for one second had Jonathan turned his blue gaze away from her, watching her just like the man in the poem.

Raven had been joggling with the subject for some time, wondering whether or not she could run and actually get away. She knew she couldn't.

And one part of her, the part who was so fucking tired of keeping secrets and avoiding words was tired and sat on the floor of her mind, telling her to go on and get it over with. Give Jonathan the thing he had wanted in exchange for her freedom.

,, Thomas Kay." she said after another five minutes, the night lying over the city outside like a blanket. Jonathan hardly reacted, but Raven could _hear _his ears straining to snap up every piece of information.

,, Some upper class persona, not the big shot but one of the bigger." Raven was still looking out of the window.

,, After Gordon's death, Susan and I kinda drifted apart. Our parents knew each other and... my parents found Thomas for her, a respectable young man with a good career and shit like that... I think she wanted to put the whole deal behind her and move on." she still remembered when Susan had introduced them to one another; during a fucking art class, with Raven's hair tied up and streaks of paint of her clothes, face and hands. He had been this tanned creep with oily hair and an oily voice. None of them had taken a liking to the other.

,,... they dated all the way through high school, Susan never telling me how much she hated the bastard, and when we got older, they got engaged." Jonathan wasn't taking notes or anything like that, he just sat and listened. Raven didn't know if to find that unnerving or not.

,, Then one day..." a single tear trailed down over her cheek, Raven grinning like the whole thing was some bad joke.

,,... we decided to meet in their apartment and hang out... I have never seen anyone so scared as her when she opened the door, jumping at the smallest sound and twitching nervously all the time. She told me she had been in this car crash some weeks ago, that's was why she was bruised and was missing two of her fingers..." another tear, Raven not caring to hide it anymore. Jonathan still sat and listened to the storm building up in the story.

,, I was so stupid, I should have noticed something was wrong...

She said she didn't want to upset me, so that's was why she hadn't told me about the crash." tear number three, something inside her had opened. Raven hadn't been able to cry properly since that day in Arkham.

,, Then Thomas came home...

Immediately they began arguing over me, apparently I wasn't allowed to be there." tear number four.

,, Then he hit her." Jonathan had waited for it to happen, but he still felt cold. To Raven, everything after that had happened in flashes.

,, I just remember taking Sue's arm and walking for the door, I was so fucking angry... I just wanted to get out of there, then care about everything else later. Thomas didn't follow us... right away...

He had this... I don't know, some sort of knife he had specially made for him, like a saw with an ordinary knife handle. He had been using it on Susan... She still got scars over most of her body... She thought she'd never find a man who'd want her, when she looked like that...

Two weeks before, she had told him that she was leaving him, and he cut one of her fingers off... The other one..." tear number five, six, seven and eight.

,,... he had cut off because she had forgotten to by juice one day...!" that sad grin again, like she couldn't believe it. It was all so absurd.

,, Then... well, all I remember is he tried to cut Susan, but I was in the way..." she could sometime's still feel the blade in her side... Sometimes she even heard it.

,,... Then there was screaming all around, I still don't know if it was Susan or me... I somehow managed to get a hold of the knife and... I... turned it around... and..." she had stopped counting her tears, she didn't feel like keeping track of them anymore.

,, I stabbed him in the left longue, nearly puncturing his heart, and he... I can't remember if he fell or if I pushed him down the stairs..." all she remembered was scrambling to the floor, trying to keep a pressure on her cut with her bloody hands, Susan crying and whispering _thank you _over and over, her sight darkening and finally...

,, I fainted from blood loss. Woke up in the hospital precisely 32 hours and 7 minutes later. Susan was sitting beside me and guarding me while I slept, like Thomas would somehow come back. She was crying, but..." she finally turned her head and looked at Jonathan, who still sat and tried to fight any trace of emotion from his face. All in all, he wanted, despite of everything between Raven and him, to say something. But what the hell could he ever say?

,,... I have never seen her smile like that... Like everything was alright again.

Five minutes later a pair of cops read me my rights and chained me to the bed... Spent most of the months to come in various temporary cells while the trial went on..." Jonathan licked his lips.

,, So... what..."

,, Manslaughter. Five years. And since there are no empty prisons in Gotham..." she swung her legs out over the side of the sill and looked at Jonathan.

,, I got send to Arkham." she sat and watched Jonathan in a silent heartbeat, the noises from the street below only faintly reaching them. Then Jonathan got up and walked out of the room, leaving Raven to herself. She closed her eyes, happy for the moment alone, and cried, quickly, efficiently and sad. She stopped and tried to wipe the tears away when Jonathan walked back into the room, holding a cup with something steaming in one hand. He walked over to where Raven sat and handed it to her.

,, Here we are, drink while it's still hot." Raven looked down into the cup and sniffed in deeply. Coffee.

,, I got it when we were out. People don't really keep much attentions to where they have their groceries." Raven just closed her eyes, causing two additional tears to escape, and drank the coffee slowly, holding the burning hot cup in both hands. When she had emptied it, she put it beside her on the sill and looked at Jonathan, not speaking one word.

,, Oh, that reminds me." he pulled his shirt off, he was still wearing the outfit Raven had forced him into earlier.

,, You'd probably want this back." he turned his back to her and pulled the t-shirt she had borrowed him over his head, causing Raven to lose her breath. First of all, obvious reason, he looked gorgeous. Secondly, his back was lined on every angle with scars. They had smoothed over the years, but they were still easy to see in the semi darkness of the room. Later on, Raven was informed that most of the scars were made by a leather belt or a thin, whip like branch. Souvenirs from his wonderful grandmother.

,, Oh..." she uttered. Not pitiful or anything like that, it mostly sounded surprised. Jonathan pulled his white shirt back on and buttoned it before turning and handing the t-shirt to a baffled Raven.

,, I think I'll go change." he said. Raven only gave a small nod and watched him disappear into his room, the door closing painfully slow after him.

Raven just sat. She had told the how's and the why's and what he wanted to know. And in return, like some sort of comfort, he had exposed a bit of himself to her. She wasn't the only one who was scarred and mended.

She jolted slightly when the door opened again and Jonathan walked out, dressed in his stupid suit again, tie, jacket, the lot. He looked more comfortable. Raven slid her feet to the floor and stood up, taking her t-shirt and packing it down her back. Then she stood for a moment, then pulled out the money she had managed to scoop from the box and threw them down the bag as well. She zipped it and got back up to face Jonathan, who had walked up close to her.

,, You can leave tomorrow, when it's light outside." Raven opened her mouth to argue, but was cut off.

,, I promise." he said it so sincerely that Raven actually believed him.

,, Fine." she sighed. Then she froze when she felt Jonathan's hand on her cheek, wiping some of her tears away. And she didn't flinch or pull away, or anything like that. She grabbed his hand with both of hers and held it on her cheek, her eyes slightly sad looking before she closed them. She didn't know for how long she stood like that, Jonathan's fingers stroking her cheek gently, but she knew she wouldn't mind standing there for the rest of the night. Except...

,, Raven?" she opened her eyes and they met Jonathan's, second before he tilted his head and kissed her, his lips felt so soft against hers.

They stood like that for a fraction of a second, then their arms moved around one another and locked. Jonathan pulled away, his blue eyes filled with something Raven had never seen in them before, then tilted his head to the other side and kissed her again. She tasted like coffee, he stated. But, he decided in the same second, coffee alone could never taste that sweet.

Raven's hands moved around and gently pushed him away, breaking off their kiss, and looked at him with the tears on her cheeks shining in the light from the streets and her eyes dark.

,, I'm not doing this because you kissed me first; I'm not doing it because you know what happened to me; and I am not doing it because you showed me your scars." she said, sounding stubborn as ever, her arms moving up and around his neck, their noses almost touching.

,, Then why are you doing it?" Jonathan whispered and held her closer, not bearing the thought of this being another trick.

,, Because I want to." Raven said boldly and kissed him.

**Disclaimer (yet another one, I don't hae that many original ideas... Nah, just kidding!): The poem Raven recites from is The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe. You should read it, it's beautiful.**

**Reviews make my millennium!:D**


	18. Chapter 18

"Goodbye"

Such an ugly word.

Jonathan Crane felt slightly confused, in a wonderful, head spinning way. As a human, he had had needs, he still had them, but before it had been so much easier to sate them. He would usually invite some woman from his work out, buy her dinner and entertain her for the evening. No reason for not being a gentleman.

Then he would invite them to stay the night, and they always accepted. Who could resist his charming smile and his flirty blue eyes? And the woman in question had always expected to be invited inside and had always dressed herself to perfection. Loose clothes which were easy to remove and soft silk underwear that felt fragile to the touch.

Raven was wearing ordinary everyday clothes, not loose nor too tight, the rough material of her jeans standing in a unusual contrast to her soft cotton shirt, and the strange feeling of her bandaged hand.

He wrapped his arms even closer around her and ran his fingers through her hair, Raven kissing him back and letting the tears on her cheeks dry. They pulled back for air, not letting go of each other.

,, Wow..." Raven said, breathless.

,, That would be a sufficient way to describe it." Jonathan grinned.

,, No, I mean..." she looked at him, his blue eyes flooding her vision.

,,... wow." he chuckled and tilted her head with his hands, tracing a fine line of kisses along her jaw, then found her lips again. Raven sighed and leaned close into Jonathan's arms, relaxing and tensing at the same time. They pulled away again.

,, You, uh... You're a great kisser." Raven managed to say, causing Jonathan to chuckle again. How could she ever have thought such a beautiful sound annoying?

,, Why, thank you. Same to you, if I may put forward a piece of my mind?" Raven nodded and rested her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes and savoring the feeling of his hands, slowly working their way up under her shirt and gently stroking her back.

Jonathan first thought she was overbalancing when she gently pushed him in the chest, but she persisted on pushing him backwards, until his back lightly connected with the door to his bedroom.

,, Oh." he grinned. She grinned back.

,, If you're up to it, that is." she taunted.

,, You teasing little wench." he said. Raven laughed at his language and pulled him into the bedroom. As the distance between themselves and the bed shortened, their kisses grew longer and more ardent, their fingers digging into each other's shirts and both of them grinning teasingly. However, when Jonathan's hands moved down and grabbed the trim of her shirt, Raven pulled back and grabbed his wrists gently, a small glint of doubt showing in her eyes.

,, What?" he asked, his voice cold, lovingly and teasing at one time.

,, You think I'm going to point and laugh and tell my friends about it?" Raven shook her head.

,, No... It's just..." this was her first time since it all had begun, since the era of scars, jails, madhouses and madmen had begun. Jonathan moved his hand further up, pulling her shirt along, the tips of his fingers felt cool against her burning skin.

,, Just relax." he whispered. When his left hand touched her scar she twitched but didn't pull away, and helped him pull the shirt over her head. Her bra was a simple cotton one, everyday clothing for an everyday woman. He reached out and placed a hand on her naked shoulder, moving it down and around her waist, obliterating the space between them and kissing her doubts away. Her hands moved up and unbuttoned his jacket and pulled it off him, leaving it on the floor and fumbling with his tie, Jonathan's hands moving up and down her torso in a slow pace, his lips carefully tasting hers. Then she pulled away and looked at him, almost bossing.

,, Well, unless you want me to strangle you again, go and help me with this...!" she tugged at his tie, causing Jonathan to chuckle for the third time, and his slim fingers moved up around hers and loosened the tie. He kissed her blushing cheeks as he pulled it off and dropped it onto his jacket.

,, What? I've never been a big fan of ties...!" she tried to argue, but Jonathan choked her argument with another kiss. Raven closed her eyes and pulled his shirt from his trousers and snapped the buttons open with skilled hands. His chest was smooth and wonderful to the touch, he was strong without being brawny and Raven grinned into his mouth when he sighed as her fingers moved over his thorax. She pulled him the last way and they fell down into the bed, the world consisting of nothing more than the room they were in. Raven pulled his shirt off him and traced her fingers over the scars on his back, causing Jonathan to close his eyes and sigh heavily, his whole body trembling from the unfamiliar feeling of hands actually touching him without a desire to hurt, to scar. He traced a hand down and stroked her scar gently. Raven's eyes somehow managed to glow in the dark, like twin beacons leading sailors to a safe port on a stormy night.

,, We're a right couple of freaks, huh?" she asked and ran her right hand through his hair, cursing the bandage for robbing her of the feeling.

,, Being normal doesn't sound that fun either." Jonathan replied.

,, What is normal?" Raven asked to the darkness, Jonathan moving down and placing kisses on her neck and shoulders.

,, Save the philosophy for later on." he breathed.

,, Getting bossy now, are we?" she teased and closed her eyes in pleasure, her hands grasping his hair without pulling and hurting him. Her legs tangled with his and she pulled his face up close enough for a kiss, burning and deep, not wanting at any point to stop or let go.

,, Jonathan?"

,, Yes?" he muttered as he got up to pull of his shoes and socks and unbuttoning his trousers before lying back down again beside Raven, who was kicking her shoes and worn socks off as well.

,, You're the best crush I've ever had."

*

Afterwards, they were both lying in the bed, panting for air and feeling exhausted in the most wonderful of ways. Raven was resting her head on Jonathan's chest, her right hand tracing over his torso in a steady rhythm, her eyes slightly closed. Jonathan had, apparently, found a lock of Raven's hair which required special attention, and he twirled and twisted it around his fingers, tangling and de-tangling it.

,, Well. You're... not that bad." Raven said. Jonathan tugged at her hair gently, teasingly. Was this really the same Jonathan who had gassed her in Narrows?

,, You really do know how to give a compliment." he teased. Raven snuggled further down under the ruffled cover and sighed contently.

,, Okay: you were amazing. There, happy?" the arm he had wrapped around her tightened it's grip and squeezed her tenderly.

,, For now." they lay like that for some time, then Raven began squirming out of the bed, grabbing for her clothes with one hand and trying to hold the cover up to shield her more sensitive areas, by habit, with her other one.

,, Something the matter?" Jonathan asked and leaned up on his elbow.

,, Sorry, but I'm just beat...!" she covered a yawn with the back of her hand.

,, And why should that give you any reason to move?" he asked and grabbed her wrist. Raven turned her head and looked at him.

,, I see no reason for why you can't sleep here tonight." he tugged her back down and wrapped the cover closer around her. Raven smiled and wanted to say thank you, but she threw the idea aside and settled for kissing him again.

*

Jonathan wondered what time it was? Somewhere around nine, maybe ten in the morning, he guessed, but it was just guessing. Then again...

He looked at Raven who was lying and sleeping beside him, curled up with the white sheet wrapped around her, breathing slow and steady.

... was the exact time really that important?

He carefully began to move, his left arm still wrapped around Raven's body, and got up and began gathering his scattered clothes and pulling them on. He looked at his right arm, which still was bandaged from his little accident with the junkie with the gun. He had changed the gauze regularly and the wound was closing up nicely. Standing and thinking a bit, he pulled the bandage off and looked at his arm for some time, then pulled his shirt on and buttoned it slowly. He bent down for his jacket and tie and looked at Raven, who was lying and quietly waking. He walked over to her, leaned down, and kissed her ear, causing her to stir and mutter something in her sleep.

,, What time is it?" she yawned and huddled further down the bed. Again with the time.

,, I don't know. About ten."

,, Evening?"

,, Morning." that caused Raven to groan and cover her head with a pillow.

,, Wake me when it's dark again." she said and rolled over.

,, Listen..." Jonathan leaned down and pulled the pillow away from her face, causing Raven to groan again and glare meanly.

,,... I'll go and make us some coffee. That will give about ten minute to wake up. Deal?"

,, Give me ten hours." she yawned. Jonathan laughed quietly and kissed her again before turning and walking out of the room.

After about five minutes of twisting in bed and stretching shallowly, Raven sat up and stretched her arms so much she thought they actually grew longer. Then she got up and began to get dressed, deciding her white shirt wouldn't do, and snug out into the living room and grabbed her bag. Back in the bedroom she, pulled a long-sleeved black shirt out and pulled it on. It was snug, and slightly tight-fitting, but Raven didn't mind. She had heard somewhere that black was supposed to be a sexy colour. Something with black underwear and stuff like that. She didn't know if it was true but next time she met Batman, she would have to ask him how much he got laid.

She brushed her hair until it was just the kind of smooth she liked, then pulled out a small perfume bottle and dabbed two pink drops on her neck and one on her wrist. Moroccan rose, her favorite.

The kitchen smelled of coffee when she walked out into it and, sure enough, a steaming cup was standing on the small table. Jonathan was standing and leaning against the kitchen table, taking a sip of his own. He nodded approvingly.

,, Considering I made this, it is not so bad." he said and smiled, like a five year old boy who has just finished building his very first kite. Raven took the cup on the table and took a sip; it was burnt and bitter, but she tried not to let it show.

,, It's good." she smiled and took another large sip. Jonathan shook his head.

,, Actually, it's horrid, but that's not too bad for me."

,, Hey, the one you made me last night was good." Raven said and walked up to him, leaving the cup on the table behind her. Jonathan put his own cup down on the counter and reached out and touched her cheek gently, like she would tear and vanish if he was too harsh. Raven smiled and closed her eyes, leaning into his hand and relaxing completely.

,, Listen, uh, last night..." Jonathan wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer.

,, Mmn?"

,,... uh, just so you know... Uhm, I usually don't just kiss a guy and then... have sex with him... So..."

,, Don't worry." he said and rested his head against hers, closing his eyes and sniffing in her perfume. She smelled wonderful.

,, I don't think you're cheap."

,, That wasn't what I said, but thanks." she giggled into his shoulder. Jonathan gently let her go again.

,,Better drink your coffee before it gets cold."

,, Yeah..." Raven walked back to where she had left her coffee.

,,... 'Cause that would make it gross...!" she sat down and grinned teasingly. Jonathan chuckled and walked over and sat down in front of her.

,, Has no one ever told you that it's not wise to insult a criminal?"

,, Considering what I just slipped you, I wouldn't be that precautious; in about a week or so, you'll wake up chained to the radiator." Raven knew that wasn't something to joke about, but she felt like keeping the happy mood for a minute or so more. But, looking at Jonathan, sitting and smiling at her... It really hurt.

They drank their coffee in a cozy silence, they didn't really need to speak that much. Raven just sat and looked down in her coffee cup, taking a burnt and bitter sip now and again. Jonathan did the same, looking at Raven from time to time, as if to convince himself that she was really there. One time during these glances, their eyes caught each other and they both smiled.

But nothing lasts forever and finally, Raven emptied her cup and sighed deeply.

,, Well, I think I should be going." she said and _hated _herself for it. Jonathan looked at her with a stare that made Raven hate herself even more.

,, Excuse me?"

,, Well... You know... If I hurry, I can catch the morning greyhound... And..." she stopped. The way Jonathan looked made her throat twist shut.

,, Don't look at me like that..." she said and looked away. Jonathan got up and walked over to her, grabbing her chin and turned her head so they looked each other in the eyes.

,, Why?" he asked, his voice still calm and clever as always.

,, Well... You said I could go when it was light outside..."

,, But why?" why did she want to leave?

,, Because I need to get away in a hurry... While there's still a chance for me to do it."

,, But..." Jonathan let go of her and pulled his chair up beside her, holding her in place with his eyes.

,,... you could stay here...?" he offered meekly.

,, And do what? Run for the rest of my life, hide in the shadows until I either die or get caught?" Jonathan knew he couldn't force her to do that, but...

,, Become the Scarecrow's eligible sidekick?" she said and tried to get up, but Jonathan caught her lower arm and pulled her back down.

,, Don't leave." he said, his hand like iron around her arm.

,, Let go." she hissed and pulled free, getting up from the chair and walking out from the kitchen. Jonathan followed.

,, But, I thought you'd stay... After last night..."

,, Yeah..." Raven bent down and picked her bag up and slung it over her shoulder.

,, I thought it'd be a good way to say goodbye." he grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her up against the wall in the living room, madness burning in his eyes.

,, Don't say that was your goodbye kiss...!" he hissed.

,, I'm sorry... And believe me, if I had any choice, I'd stay here, I really would..." she shifted under his grip, somehow trying to ease the pain he was causing.

,, But I can't..." she managed to push him away and walked for the door. Jonathan raced after and caught up with her by the door.

,, Don't get all emotional, it's awfully uncomfortable to watch," Raven said, mimicking Jonathan's words before opening the door and walking out in the hall towards the elevator. The second after she'd pushed the button, Jonathan grabbed her and forced her back up against the wall once more, pressing his lips against hers in a pleading kiss. Raven stood still for a second, then gave in and kissed him back, her fingers clutching around his collar and more of those stupid tears falling from her eyes. Jonathan's arms wrapped around her and his fingers ran through her hair. Then there came a small ding from the elevator and the doors opened. Raven stopped and pulled away, Jonathan shaking his head and still holding her tightly.

,, I gotta go..." she whispered and began pulling free.

,, You don't have to..." he said. Raven just nodded and forced his arms away and managed the get into the elevator.

,, I don't suppose anything I say will make you change your mind?" Jonathan asked. Raven shook her head and wiped her tears away. What was it with her and all the crying? She hoped it wasn't going to turn into a habit.

,, Here..." he reached out and took her arm, pulling her into one final kiss.

,, Bye..." she whispered and pressed the button to the ground floor. Jonathan pulled back as the doors hummed shut. Raven opened her eyes, she hadn't been able to bear the look in Jonathan's eyes, and she landed painfully on her tailbone when her knees caved. What was happening to her? First there was the crying, and now she felt like she was going to throw up. She had never felt like that before.

She hugged her bag tightly to her chest and closed her eyes again, trying to steady her trembling breath. The elevator ride felt like a small eternity.

*

Actually, there wasn't going a greyhound for hours, but Raven knew she wouldn't have been able to walk around pretending in the apartment for the whole day.

So she wandered around Gotham, every step feeling so painful to her she wondered if she should turn back? But she knew she couldn't, so with a heavy heart, she kept on walking.

She hardly noticed where she was, she couldn't really see the point in it. Had she been looking around, she might have noticed the purple van, standing parked clumsily by the entrance to one of the many banks of Gotham. She might have noticed the approaching sirens and the gathering crowd across the street, but she was too busy convincing herself she was fine. By mere coincidence, maybe caused from the warnings from the crowd on the other side of the road, Raven looked up and starred in through the glass doors of the bank.

A couple of men were walking around with rifles or guns in their hands and a group of office members and customers were cowering in a bundle on the floor.

Joker saw her about the same second she saw him.

He grinned wider than before and gave her a jolly wave with the hand he wasn't holding a rifle in. Raven's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and she turned to run, but the sound of a gun getting fired and a piercing pain in her left leg stopped her. She fell flat on the pavement, people screaming and dodging bullets which never came. Raven cursed and took a few whimpering breaths.

,, Fuck...!" she twisted onto her back and wrung from the pain shooting through her leg. At least she could feel no bones were broken.

,, Bumblebee, what are you doing here?" Joker's grinning painted face came into vision and the point of a rifle hovered above her chest, making sure the newly arrived police didn't try anything. Joker's gloved hand grabbed Raven by the collar and pulled her up in a sitting position. He wrapped an arm around her neck and pulled her to her feet, even though Raven quickly learned that she shouldn't put any weight on her left leg. Her hands locked around his arm for support, trying to ignore the rifle at her temple.

,, How've you been? Ya' look kinda blue. You missed me? Oh, hello!" he waved at the police folk, who were all hiding behind their cars and pointing guns at him.

,, How about the two of us getting, uh, inside? Ya' know, we could put our feet up and talk about old days." he began walking backwards, Raven stumbling after with a cursing whimper every time her bad leg touched the ground. The second they were inside the bank, Joker let go of her and Raven landed on her tailbone for the second time on the same day, hissing through her teeth. Joker patted her on the head.

,, You just find a place to sit and I'll be joining ya' in a minute." he said and was gone, swaggering out of the bank again and talking to the police. Raven groaned and bit her whimpers back, forcing herself to look at her leg. The bullet had been fired with a great force and had gone straight through her leg, not hitting or grazing the bone or any major vein, but it still bled and hurt like hell. She looked at the henchmen around her, but they merely glanced at her out of the corner of their eye, so she decided to do the same with them.

_Fuck them, you need to concentrate... _she unzipped her bag and pulled out her grey skirt, touching the shirt Jonathan had been wearing yesterday, and began ripping the dust coloured fabric to long shreds. One of them she folded to a compress and placed it on her gash, then began wrapping the remaining "bandages" around her leg. The blood stopped its flowing and the pain subsided, and Raven fell back to the floor, resting her head on her bag and sighing heavily. What now?

She turned onto her side and closed her eyes when the soft material of the blue t-shirt was pressed against her cheek. She buried her face in it and tried to concentrate on the thought of Jonathan.

_Well, can't wait for my stalker in an ugly suit forever... _she thought after some time, but she didn't move. The shirt just smelled so good...

,, Ya' haven't fainted or anything like that?" Joker asked and prodded her sore leg with the tip of his shoe, causing Raven to twitch.

,, Good, it wouldn't be much fun talking to ya' otherwise." he sat down beside her, his legs sprawled on the floor like a child's, and hugged his rifle like a teddybear.

,, So, whatcha been up to?" he asked. Raven shrugged.

,, Not much... You?"

,, Oh, you know..." he waved a hand at the room.

,,... bit of the usual."

,, I really didn't think you were the type to rob a bank..." Raven said as Joker picked up a bundle of money from the floor, leafing through them without counting.

,, Nah, the money's a bonus." he pulled out a hundred dollar bill and began folding it into a paper swan.

,, You do origami?"

,, I can do a paper plane and a boat, if that's what you're asking." she sat herself up and Joker handed her a bill.

,, So, if it's not for the money, then why are you doing this?" she asked and began folding a small, crispy green plane.

,, Try taking a look at the riot out there." Joker pointed at the several police cars and the growing crowd and a newly arrived van from GCN.

,, You're trying to get people's attention..." Raven said.

,, You're trying to draw Batman out."

,, Ya' know, you should be on gameshows." Joker said and put down the small frog he had just folded and began on something new with another bill.

,, You going to let any of the hostages go afterwards?" Raven send the small plane out flying through the air and began on a boat.

,, If Batty shows up on time, yeah." Joker's fingers worked unbelievably fast and he soon sat with a bird in his hand.

,, Look: I made a raven." he put it down on the floor and began on something new.

,, You wouldn't happen to have met some other members of The Dorm out there? Like Kitten or Riddler or..." he looked at Raven, who sat and folded another boat in silence.

,,... Jonny." Raven didn't say anything, she just shook her head slightly.

,, You miss him?" Joker asked. Raven still didn't answer.

,, Hey look:" he proudly presented his newest creation.

,, It's a crane." he looked at the paper bird in his hand.

,, I think I'll call him Jonny. So..." he picked up the raven he had made before.

,, This is Jonny Crane..." he waved the crane, like it was children's theatre.

,, And this is Raven." he bumped the two paper beaks of the birds together and made kissing noises.

,, You're fucking crazy." Raven said, her voice like acid, and she curled up the bill in her hand and dropped it to the floor.

,, No I'm not." Joker said, having forgotten everything about the birds.

,, Sorry to disagree with you, pal, but you're a nutbag."

,, No I'm not." he said again.

,, What, that's all? Listen: You're fucking crazy. There, now you know." the handle of the rifle got smashed into Raven's face and she fell backwards to the floor, pressing both of her hands against her bleeding nose and the cut in her lip. Joker grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up and spat in her ear, his sour breath making Raven sick.

,, No. I'm. Not." he said and got up, leaving Raven on the floor alongside the small origami figures.

*

Bruce Wayne was sitting in his elaborate mansion, in one of his elaborate living rooms, in an elaborate couch, watching not so elaborate news on the TV. On the screen, Joker had let most of the hostages go, except for one...

,, I know bats are know to be night time creatures, master Wayne." Alfred said, standing behind the couch and looking at the screen.

,, But maybe you should consider leaping into action any time soon?"

,, I don't like it:" Bruce said, tossing a case file aside on the couch. It contained notes and school diplomas, police reports and a picture or two of Raven Scarrow.

,, It's the second time she's been taken hostage... It could be a trick..." on the screen, the camera crew fought to get some pictures of the only remaining prisoner, sitting on the floor with traces of blood smeared across her face.

,, I don't think that's the case; a very few mentally stable people would try to run away and get shot in the leg, and then team up with Joker." Alfred said as one of the reporters told about what had happened during the last hours. Bruce Wayne looked out of the window.

,, It's evening now; I think I can arrive a little early."

*

It was getting darker outside, and Raven suddenly felt very alone on the floor, with all the other hostages gone. But one single would work just as well as ten.

Joker sat down beside her again, picking the paper raven up and looking at it, thought- and playfully.

,, You wanna see a magic trick?" he asked. Raven shrugged and he leaned closer, pointing to the five armed men in the room.

,, I've told them all, without the rest of the knowing, that I'll give 10.000 dollars to the one who kills his teammates in about..." he looked at the big clock on the wall.

,,... five seconds time." Raven hadn't any time to react before a roar of gunfire began, Joker shoving Raven to the floor and laughing madly as his five henchmen killed each other so very quick but not so very neatly.

,, Who says it's though to find good workers these days?" Joker laughed and looked at the five bodies. Raven wanted to scream something at him, where the word 'crazy' would turn up more than once, but she wasn't in the mood for another beating.

,, So..." Joker wrapped an arm around her neck again and held up a knife in front of her face, moving it like a pendulum.

,,... It's just you and me now, sugar lips."

The roar of a car engine thundered through the streets and Joker's scarred face twisted into a crazy grin.

,, You and me and Batsy makes three." he said and he pulled her to her feet and moved the arm around her neck further down, so he could rest the blade of the knife against her throat. The roar of the engine increased, then stopped, but there was no car outside. It would have been to obvious to park there.

,, And here we..." Joker paused for dramatic effect.

,,... go."

**Thank you to Purgatory Nymph, who inspired me to move on:)**

**Thank you to everyone for reading:)**

**I admit, when Joker says "magic trick" I feel a sudden urge to hide away my pencils, don't know about you:D**

**Reviews are wonderful, as always:)**


	19. Chapter 19

,, I think I like you..."

,, Well, this ought to be fun!" Joker giggled. Raven's heart was thundering against her ribs and her brain creaked to plan several plans of escape, but she tossed them all aside.

,, Batty Batsy, come out and play!" Joker called, not even the slightest nervous. Some broken glass got crushed under a boot behind them and Joker spun around, Raven having no choice but to follow. She had never actually seen Batman before, not in a drug-free state, only on blurry photos in the papers, so she couldn't help but wonder how many people had actually seen him up close.

,, There he is! Still going for the "all black" outfit, eh Batsy? Can't really say it suits you."

,, I'm here now. Let her off." he had a voice like a bass guitar, deep and booming.

,, Uh..." Joker licked his lips.

,,... okay." he let go off Raven, who carefully tried to stand on her leg before getting pushed to the floor by Joker. He pulled out a stick of dynamite from his inner pocket

_Who the hell carries bombs in his jacket?_

and lit the fuse with a match.

,, Go long." he said and threw the stick at Batman, who managed to dodge it but not the explosion. Tiles fell from the ceiling and remaining unbroken glass broke. Raven quickly scrambled up and tried to race for the door, but Joker tripped her

he seriously tripped her

and she knocked her knees and palms hard against the floor, getting cuts from small bits of glass. She felt a hand on her shoulder and Batman tossed her away from Joker, before throwing a punch in the clown's face.

Raven now found herself in the corner furthest away from the door.

_Great, it's my fucking lucky day! _she tried getting up, leaning against the wall and keeping her eyes on the fight in the middle of the room. Batman threw another punch and Joker flew backwards into the wall, still laughing like he always did.

,, Do you require a hand of some sorts?" Raven froze for a second, then she looked around and could have cried out in elation; Jonathan was standing in the shadow of the Staff Only door, which he had pushed slightly open. He was wearing his mask, but even that looked wonderfully familiar. He moved aside and Raven raced in, almost jumping into his arms, and Jonathan shut the door.

,, I can't leave you alone for one measly little hour before you get into trouble." he said, Raven could see him grinning under the mask. However, before Raven got to fire back, the door they were standing by got smashed to pieces when another explosion send Batman flying through it and he landed on the floor between them. Joker jolted after, but stopped when he saw the Scarecrow.

,, Jonny! You're here too? It's like a party!" on the floor, Batman blinked a couple of times and slowly got up. Jonathan nodded towards the front of the bank.

,, Get out. There's a door behind the counters." Raven nodded and ran out, only to get caught by Joker the second later.

,, C'mon, ya' can't leave now! The fun's just about to start...!"

,, Let her go!" Batman roared, before Jonathan snug up behind him and gassed him in the face. Batman turned around and knocked Jonathan away, like one does with a fly, then began swinging punches at things the gas made him see.

,, He's all yours. Let her go now." Jonathan demanded. Joker looked at Batman as he tripped and began fumbling for something in his belt.

,, Aw, Jonny likes you!" Joker cackled and ruffled up in Raven's hair, Raven kicking and fighting to get free.

,, Listen: you can have Batman and have all the fun your twisted mind can come up with, but let. Her. Go." Jonathan's eyes shot ice lightning.

,, What's the bother, he's not fun now." Joker said and gesticulated towards Batman, who was forcing a strong needle into his arm in a point between his glove and the sleeve of his suit.

,, Not for long." Jonathan said. Joker looked from the Batman, to Raven, to Jonathan, then laughed.

,, Sure, it's like trading baseball cards!" he threw Raven at him and pulled out another stick of dynamite. Jonathan grabbed Raven by the arm and pulled her away from the fighters.

,, How are you?"

,, I've had worse days." she said and shrugged. Jonathan looked her up and down, as if checking something was missing. When he was satisfied he loosened his hold on her arm, but Raven almost shouted.

,, Don't let go!" he stopped, his beautiful blue eyes filled with wonder.

,, If you do, the police might come barging in, but if they still think I'm hostage..." he gave the hint of a nod, but then there was another explosion and the air wave send them both to the floor. More tiles and bricks fell from the walls and the ceiling, Raven and Jonathan covering their heads with their arms. Raven looked up at the mess and Batman and Joker, who somehow both had managed to stand their ground during the explosion.

,, Maybe we should get out?" Jonathan asked. Raven nodded and they got up, Jonathan still holding Raven's arm. Then there came a nasty sound when Batman knocked Joker out and the clown fell to the floor. Jonathan quickly pulled Raven up in front of him like a shield and held his wrist up to her face.

,, Déjà vu." Raven mumbled to Jonathan.

,, So, shall we really go over this again?" Jonathan asked as Batman came closer.

,, Remember how it worked out last time?" Batman sneered.

,, Vaguely." Jonathan nodded and began walking backwards, Raven walking along voluntarily but trying to make it look like she was fighting to get free. Jonathan pressed his lips against her ear, the burlap scratching against her skin.

,, The second I let you go, run." he said. Raven turned her head and looked him in the eyes. What did he mean by that? "Letting her go", he was coming with her!

,, Now." he quickly let go of her and pushed her towards the door, Batman racing forward to knock Scarecrow to the ground. Jonathan maybe wasn't the strongest of the two of them, but he was agile and he fought like a pro, kicking and hitting where he knew it would hurt. Raven found herself unable to run, she didn't know what to do.

She slowly began walking backwards, every step merely bringing her a few inches back, not wanting to run.

Then some squad guy tackled her and she knocked her ribs against the floor. She cried out as the air left her lungs, then began squirming and kicking.

,, Let go of me, you fucking... creep!" she screamed, but the guy held her arms locked beneath her and her fight was fruitless. Some glass on the floor dug into her cheek and she could feel how her insides burned when her rage began taking over, leaving room for nothing else. Except...

Jonathan Crane usually never got distracted during a fight, but when he heard Raven scream, his eyes flinched from his opponent to her and the growing mass of police folk and the next thing he felt was the Bat-man's fist connecting with his jaw and the light went out.

Raven stopped her fighting when she saw Jonathan fall to the floor, his skull slamming hard against the marble ground, then she began kicking more aggressively.

,, Let me go! Let me go!" she shouted and wrung like an angry snake, but it was no use.

,, Police!" some guy shouted at Batman.

,, Put your hands on your head!" he didn't. Instead, he tossed a small fog-bomb to the floor and his body disappeared in a well of smoke. About ten cops ran to the spot but when the smoke cleared, the Batman was gone.

Raven was still trying to tear free.

,, Let... me go... you fucking... Let me go!" then the weight of the guy disappeared and Raven tried to get up, but her arms were grabbed and wrung to her back by one pair of hands, another pair snapping a pair of cuffs on. Raven tried to tug them off, as if it would help, but of course it didn't work.

,, Someone call an ambulance." that made Raven stop her fighting. She wasn't hurt and Joker, who was getting snapped into a pair of handcuffs as well, was slowly waking up, so that couldn't be him... There was a cop kneeling beside Jonathan and pressing two fingers against his jugular vein.

_Fuck._

A pair of cops pulled Raven to her feet and locked her arms with theirs, but Raven hardly reacted.

,, Jonathan?" then she felt her fiery insides getting drowned in ice water and she looked panicky at the two cops.

,, Let me go." she began tugging again and the two men tightened their grips.

,, Please let me go, I won't run off, I swear, I just, I need to see him!" the men began dragging her off, Raven's eyes locked on the kneeling cop, who was carefully removing Jonathan's mask. He looked so peaceful and Raven could have mistaken him for sleeping, but the blood the guy had on his fingers made her cold inside.

,, Let me go!" she shouted. Of course, hands chained on her back and a limited knowledge of medicine and first aid, she wasn't going to be of much use, but she didn't like the thought of leaving.

,, You can go, I'll take her from here." someone said. Raven looked up to see the man she had seen back at Arkham, Sergeant Gordon...

He looked nothing like her Gordon.

,, Hey, kid. Remember me?" he asked.

,, I'm not a kid. Yeah." he took her by the elbow, but he wasn't forcing her along.

,, You okay?" he asked, the sound of an ambulance coming closer.

,, Is he?" she asked and nodded towards Jonathan. Sergeant Gordon shrugged.

,, Don't know. But if it's any comfort..." he looked at the unconscious man.

,,... He's known for always coming back." he smiled at her.

,, You nervous for him?" then the ambulance pulled up and Raven and the sergeant got out of the way.

,, Yeah, I'm not really in the mood to play "Good cop" so if you could just..."

,, Sure, sure. Come on, let's get you out of here." he led her towards the broken glass door and they stepped out to a lightening storm of photographer's flashes. The sergeant helped her up in an armed car and Raven sat down, glaring at Joker who was sitting at the opposite wall with a guard on each side, his head nodding drowsily from time to time. Sergeant Gordon got in after her. The car and the night were cold and Raven quickly began freezing.

,, Here..." the sergeant pulled his trench coat off and slung it over Raven's cold shoulders.

,, Thanks..." she muttered weakly and rested the back of her head against the wall of the car, closing her eyes and trying to concentrate on something nice as the doors were closed and the car began driving. An image of Jonathan appeared in her head, his cool eyes and his soft smile making Raven relax. She remembered lying last night while he slept and looking at him in the shadows, the sight of him sleeping making her sleepy herself. How he could smile and make her knees go soft, like they had when she was younger, and how something as simple as a burnt cup of coffee could consist of an entire meal, just because she was drinking it with him. Gods in all of the heavens, please let him be all right.

Across from where she sat, Joker snored deeply for a couple or minutes, then snapped waken and looked around.

,, What did I miss?" he asked. His eyes caught Raven, who was sitting and scowling back at him.

,, Cupcake, they got you as well? Shame, huh?" he looked further around for any other persons he knew.

,, Did Jonny leave ya' behind? Because that's not very nice to do." he looked at her and licked his lips yet again.

,, He didn't leave you behind, because then you wouldn't look like you've just been told you've got hours back to live in... Which means... That either he's got hours back to live in... Or he's already dead. How long was I out?

No biggy, he's a better place now, right?"

,, Shut up!" Raven shouted and tried to kick him, sergeant Gordon trying to calm her down.

,, Just shut up!" Raven didn't care if Jonathan was a better place, she wanted him to be where she could reach him.

,, Just trying to be nice."

,, The second my hands are free again I'm going to tear you apart, bit by fucking bit!"

,, God, aren't we a little edgy? Is it your time of the month or...?" Raven shot forward and tried to kick Joker in the teeth, but she was grabbed and forced back to her seat. But the second the sergeant let go of her again she got back up, wanting to feel Joker's face break under her shoe, but then one of Joker's guards got up and Raven's body went into a spasm and her muscles all cramped when the points of a taser got forced into her right side, right into where her scar was... She faintly registered her head slamming against the floor and Joker laughing, before her eyes turned black and she passed out.

*

Raven stirred in her sleep and groaned as every muscle in her body ached.

_Where am I? _

She sat up and rubbed her eyes, looking around before noticing what she was wearing. She really didn't like the thought of people changing her clothes on her while she slept, but the fact that she was now dressed in an orange short-sleeved boiler suit made it all worse. She jumped out of the bed she had been lying in, which had been bolted to the floor, and raced to the barred window and pulled herself up and looked out at the courtyard.

,, No...!" she breathed and jumped back down, looking at her right hand which had been bandaged in new, fresh bandages and her nails, where the remaining traces of nail polish had been removed. Behind her a passing keeper shone into her cell with a flashlight.

,, Scarecrow..." Raven turned around, her golden eyes big and confused.

,,... go back to sleep." the guard said and walked on. Raven stood alone in her cell for some time, hugging herself and breathing shallowly, expecting it all to be some sort of bad dream. When the nightmare didn't go away, she somehow managed to stagger to her bed and she sat down, clutching the bedding in her hands, before finally lying down and trying to calm herself.

She was back at Arkham. And Jonathan was far away, maybe seriously injured.

Raven had promised herself that she would stop her crying, but a few tears and sobs still managed to forced their way out of her, before exhaustion and hunger finally made her pass out.

*

,, Good morning, hot stuff." Joker greeted when he sat down beside Raven at "breakfast" the Table Of The Freaks was still free for them to sit at. Raven just ate and didn't respond to Joker in any way, she wasn't really in the mood. She hadn't eaten since midday yesterday, but she still found it hard to force the paste down.

,, Still not really a talker, huh?" Joker went on and began eating.

Raven closed off for the world around her and concentrated just to get through the day. At some point, it was actually a good thing Arkham was cut off from the rest of the world. Raven remembered once as a teenager, wanting to piss her parents seriously off, when she'd been at a party and had drunk some disgusting yet very potent mixes of booze, causing her to be so sick she threw up. In the weeks to come she had been the talk of the school, with people imitating her and laughing every time she walked down the hall.

In Arkham she wasn't able to go outside where the tales of her, Joker, Batman and Jonathan were probably now all over the news, so the story could get a chance to settle and she could get some peace. But at the same time... She wasn't able to get any news about Jonathan. Circle of lies, how she could hate it at times!

,, Watcha thinking about?" Joker asked and snapped Raven out of her thoughts.

,, Do you care?" she mumbled and poked at a rock solid glob with her fork.

,, Course I do, pumpkin. I believe committing oneself to being with your friends and listening to their troubles is a reward in itself."

,, If it hadn't been for you, none of this would have happened...!" Raven hissed. She was unbelievably pissed and all in all wished that she could turn back time to the time where she had pushed down the button to the elevator and kissed Jonathan goodbye. Then she could have stopped herself and stayed where she was.

And to add insult to injury, she was locked in Arkham with Joker. And the dampness made her newly bandaged leg hurt.

,, But look on the bright side:" he looked at her with a grin.

,, At least you still got your good looks." Raven didn't even bother to growl something at him, she had lost most of her will power. It would return, of course, but not for another week or so.

A bell rung and the "recess" begun. Joker and Raven got escorted to the playroom and Joker immediately jumped into the couch and flickered the TV on.

,, Home sweet home, right?" he grinned at Raven, who sat down in one of the comfy chairs and pulled her legs up, huddling down into the worn leather and wanting to sleep. She only managed to rest for about five minutes before Joker sat down in the chair beside her, all interest in the TV gone like water on a duck.

,, Wanna know how I got my scars?" he asked and licked his lips. Raven looked properly at him and first now noticed that leftover smudges of facial paint were still showing, then shrugged.

,, Why not?" that made Joker smile like a child and he crossed his legs and begun his story.

,, Some time ago, I was just like every other man in Gotham, you see. Good job, nice house, a beautiful wife and two of the most wonderful kids you could ever imagine." the mental image of Joker as a dad almost made Raven laugh, but she somehow contained it.

,, Everything was working out just fine for me, I couldn't have been happier." he was actually not sniggering or anything like that when he was telling his story. Raven was perplexed.

,, My job, ya' see, was to take care of these children... Not ordinary, little freaks without a brain. Uh, handicapped, that's the face.

And there was this boy, David I think his crack mommy named him, he was a real sport. We got along nicely, I was his bestes friend." Joker and grammar...

,, Then one day, no one really knows the hows and they whys, David showed up at my doorstep while I was out;" Joker leaned closer and grinned at Raven with his yellow teeth.

,, I came back to find my home smashed to smithereens and my wife and children slaughtered." Raven swallowed something.

,, But, of course...!" Joker almost laughed.

,,... Little David wasn't blamed, he was a nutbag after all. And, like the heartbroken but responsible adult I was, I still looked after him at work, making sure the little fucker didn't fall and scrape his knee or anything like that.

But. He had apparently decided that I got to go, like the rest of my family.

No one still remembers how he managed to hide the scissor, but I know how."

,, How then?" Raven asked, trying not to sound too interested.

,, It was one of those small kiddie scissors, with the blunt points and the purple handle; He hid it in his mouth.

Then, while we were sitting and playing with finger-paint, I turned my head for one second and when I looked back round." he held up his one hand, holding the index and middle finger out as if to show a pair of scissors.

,, SNIP!" he said it so loud and coldly and creepy Raven actually jumped slightly in the chair.

,, Now, I tried to fight him off, but the kid had biceps like a bull.

Does bulls even have biceps? Nevermind.

In any case, it ruined my face completely, as you can tell by now. And I lost my job, the one thing that kept me going, after what I did to sweet little David."

,, What did you do?" Joker was actually a good storyteller and Raven couldn't help but getting caught up in the tale.

,, Ya' know, even though those kiddie scissors are blunt, if ya' use enough force, you can still poke someone's eyes out.

The end."

Raven sat for a few seconds, not knowing what the hell to make of it all.

,, Is it really true?" she asked.

,, Sure!" Joker said, then he broke down and began to cackle like an old witch again, losing his breath and fighting to gain new.

Raven turned her head and closed her eyes, wanting to shut Joker out. But no matter how much she tried, she just couldn't get his story or his laughter out of her head.

**Note: No, I don't think the story Joker told is the real one about his scars. That one of the things about him, you never quite know when he tells the truth... **

**Thank you for all the reviews, rosebuds!:D **


	20. Chapter 20

Redemption.

And the next three fucking weeks went like that; Raven trying to eat and keep away from Joker, but always making sure to have him nearby. She was not that strong and Joker had helped her our before. It was all a big mess, but that's Arkham.

Every time she was in her cell and she heard a car driving into the courtyard below, she always jumped up and pulled herself up in the window, looking down at the car, hoping it would be Jonathan... But usually it was just the coroner, coming to pick up any recently dead inmate. It wasn't the thought of Jonathan being dead that was maddening; it was the not knowing, always wondering and never finding rest. She sometimes just wanted to scream, but always when she sat and thought about it, Joker beat her to it and screamed for the two of them. Every time one of the keepers called her Scarecrow she hardly reacted anymore. She didn't mind it, even though Joker always threw in some comment about her changing her surname because she was with Jonathan now. Or used to be, he used to call her the widow when he was in the mood, which had resulted in a couple of beginning fights and several telling off's from the varying keepers. Well, at least it meant she hadn't totally given in to Arkham. Small point for her and a minus point to Jonathan, wherever he was, be he dead, alive or brain dead.

_If I ever meet Batman again... _Raven decided.

_... I'm going to kick his sorry ass from here to his early grave._

*

Then one day at "lunch", Raven and Joker sitting alone at their table, none of the other members of the closed dorm having cared to return, Billy walked up and stopped beside where Raven was sitting.

,, Scarrow, why aren't you eating?" he asked in the formal dreary tone all the keepers used. Raven raised an eyebrow, since she was sitting with the fork in one hand and trying to force a mouthful of the glue down.

,, Fine, then you'll have to come with me then." he said and took her by the neck like a kitten and carefully pulled her to her feet and led her out of the canteen. Raven was, to put it ridiculously mildly, confused. But the second they were in an empty corridor, Billy let go of her and she turned around.

,, What was that all about?" she asked and crossed her arms.

,, Sorry, didn't mean to confuse you like that, but it had to look genuine..." Billy looked over his shoulder, like in a cheap spy movie, then looked at Raven.

,, You up for a visit to the infirmary?" he asked.

,, Thank you, but I'm good." what the hell was he talking about? Maybe Billy was losing it, having been too much exposed to madmen had changed him?

,, What if I told you there's a friend of yours who wants to see you?" he asked and smiled like a boy scout. Raven stood dumbstruck for about fifteen seconds, then snapped back to reality.

,, Jonathan?" she asked carefully, as if his name could break.

,, Bingo." Raven could have danced with Billy, grabbing his hands and swinging him around in joy.

,, He's here? Since when? Is he all right? What happened to him? Is it serious? What..."

,, Stop!" Billy held up his hands and Raven shut her mouth.

,, For the record, try speaking with a gap now and again." she grinned a small sorry at him.

,, He's fine, come on, we'll go see him." it was hard for Raven not to race down the halls and trying to keep behind Billy at all times. At the doors to the infirmary, he stopped and turned to face her.

,, If anyone find's out, I'm soooo dead, not to mention soooo fired. So, if you could keep your voices down, I'd be really grateful." Raven was about to argue that she wasn't going to sing an assembly of the nineties greatest grunge-hits with Jonathan as backing vocals, but she changed her mind and nodded.

,, Sure, of course, quiet as a mouse." she said, fighting the urge to shove Billy aside and storm in. Billy carefully opened the door and they snuck in, two criminals in Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, and Billy led her past the mostly empty beds to a corner of the room where a green curtain hung around the bed, to shield the person lying there from the rest of the room.

,, I'll give you half and hour, but then we have to go back, okay?" Raven nodded and gave Billy a quick hug, not something neither she nor he was familiar with.

,, Billy, you're great." she whispered and snuck in under the fold of the green curtain Billy was holding open for her.

On the other side of the curtain was a hospital bed, with a small table to its right and a solitary chair to its left. Jonathan was lying on the bed, dressed in his Arkham uniform, under a thin hospital sheet, with his eyes closed but a small smile playing in the corner of his mouth, as it seemed to do most of the time, and Raven could do nothing but to smile at the sight, as she quietly walked over and sat down on the chair. She gently reached out and stroked his hair back, making Jonathan smile a little wider, and she leaned down and carefully kissed his cheek, just above the fading bruise Batman's uppercut had left. Jonathan sighed happily.

,, Dear God, I hope this is Raven...!" he whispered and opened one eye and looked at her, then gave her his best Charming Doctor smile and opened both of his eyes.

,, Hey." she greeted and smiled.

,, Billy said you wanted to see me." she carefully pulled the chair closer to the bed and made sure she didn't tangle with the saltwater drip that had been forced into the back of his hand. Jonathan titled his head and raised an eyebrow.

,, Did I? Shows how sloppy they are with the medication now I'm not here to breathe down their necks."

,, Shut up and tell me what's happened." Jonathan raised his brow even higher.

,, Yes, I know that didn't make any sense...! So, what happened to you?" she whispered and pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, so her feet wouldn't show under the bottom of the curtain.

,, A rather overwhelming concussion, but it's passing." he said the last part when Raven turned slightly grey.

,, I'll be as good as new in a week or two, no complications or anything."

,, I saw some blood when you knocked your head..."

,, Yes, a small cut in my scalp from one of the bits of glass lying around. I knocked my head against it after the Bat-man tried to imprint his fingers in my jaw."

,, Ouch. Any stitches?" he shook his head.

,, Not a single one. It has healed quite nicely by itself." Raven leaned over.

,, Let me feel." Jonathan lifted his head slightly and Raven gently moved her fingers through his hair, until she found where the glass had cut in. She made a small face.

,, Little Jonathan, you can't really get along with the other kids, huh?" she teased and helped Jonathan lie back down and rest his head against the insufficient pillow. Jonathan closed his eyes and sighed.

,, Would you do me a favour?" he asked, eyes still closed.

,, Sure. Anything."

,, I believe the hospital provided me with some pills for the last headaches... They should be lying in the bag on the table, if you could just grab them for me?" first now Raven noticed the brown paper bag Jonathan had carried around with him, standing on the small table on the other side of the bed.

,, Sure." Raven leaned over, grabbed the bag and opened it, pulling out a small orange plastic container with some pills in. Jonathan opened his eyes.

,, These?" with Jonathan Crane, it was always a good idea to check if you had gotten the right medicine. He nodded and Raven handed him the small cylinder. Jonathan popped the lid off and took one of the white pills and swallowed it without water. Raven took the container back and put it down the bag, noticing some other of Jonathan's belongings, a notebook, a fountain pen, some loose change and... Raven reached down and pulled the glasses out and looked at them, then at Jonathan.

,, Are these yours?" she asked. Jonathan looked at the glasses and nodded.

,, Yes, I believe so." Raven put the bag down in his bed and held the glasses up and looked at them.

,, You used to wear glasses?"

,, I couldn't see a thing without them."

,, What happened?"

,, Oh I... Got some medication..."

_Taste of your own medicine, Doctor?_

,, Really? Like that laser surgery-thing?"

,, You... could say that." she handed them to him.

,, Try wearing them." she smiled. Jonathan took them slowly, making sure his fingers wrapped around Raven's as he grabbed his old glasses and put them on.

,, Wow." Raven said. Jonathan removed them again, looking through the glass and his eyes trying to adjust made his headache worse.

,, A shame you don't have to wear them anymore, you look really cute with glasses." "Cute" wasn't something Jonathan Crane got called much, so he decided there was no need to try and get used to the feeling, since it would probably not happen again. He smiled when Raven put on his glasses as well, before squinting violently and pulling them off.

,, Wauw... Sorry to use the expression, but you were blind as a bat...!" she took them off and traced a finger gently along his bruise, then put the glasses back in the paper bag. Jonathan reached up and carefully touched Raven's bottom lip, where a paper-thin scar now showed where Joker had hit her with the handle of his gun.

,, Another scar for my collection." she said and smiled sadly. Jonathan smiled back and moved his hand down to mesh with her fingers. He had never been much of a holding hands-person, but he decided he could try for Raven.

,, I don't suppose anything interesting has been happening while I was gone?"

,, I've been here in three fucking weeks without breaking Joker's cranium in two."

,, I think that would be a new record." Raven smiled.

,, You?"

,, I've been sleeping most of the time. But, I did find time to do something else." he sat himself up in the bed and let go of Raven's hand, pulling his notebook from the bag and paging through it. Raven was about to jump to conclusions and ask if he had rewritten the notes about her _again, _but Jonathan leafed to three or four pages filled with notes and handed them to her. Raven read them carefully. Then read them again.

The notes were detailed plans for escapes from Arkham, each page giving a different idea on how to get out.

,, They're only sketches at the time, but I'm hoping to come up with an actual idea soon." Raven actually didn't want to leave Arkham right away; she knew the second she was out, it was all running and ducking and hiding again, and she felt like resting for some time.

,, Great. But I don't think you should be thinking too many big thoughts right now." she said and smiled at him, leaving the notes on the bed and placing her hands on his shoulders.

,, Oh? Then what should I be doing?" Raven took a risk and put her feet on the floor for support, then leaned forward and pressed her lips against Jonathan's.

,, I think you should lie back down and get some rest, you can hardly sit." she said when they broke of. Jonathan nodded and Raven helped him back down in the uncomfortable bed. Jonathan looked at her again, carefully, as if his blue eyes could hurt.

,, You have lost some weight." he finally said. Raven gave something between a nod and a shrug.

,, Yeah. Don't get me wrong, I have been eating and all, but I think I actually lose more calories than I gain in here." actually she had just lost about 6 pounds, which she didn't think was that serious, if it hadn't been for Jonathan being in medicine he would probably never have noticed, but considering it had happened on such a short period of time...

,, I'm actually glad I got caught..." she said after some time. Jonathan looked at her in question.

,, If I hadn't, I would be far away right now. At least I'm still here..." she wondered if she should finish the sentence, but then gave heck to it.

,,... with you..."

,, Now we just need to get out again." he smiled. Raven gave a small nod.

Footsteps sounded from outside the curtain and the next second, Billy appeared through the green screens.

,, Sorry to say, but we need to get you back now, Raven." he said quietly. Raven nodded and looked at Jonathan as she got up.

,, Get well in a hurry, I kinda miss you." she quickly whispered and kissed him on the forehead in a goodbye, before she turned and slipped out between the curtains.

Walking down the halls to the enclosure where Raven was set to be, Billy looked at her with a smug grin.

,, What?"

,, Nothing... It's just... All things aside, I think you and he makes a great couple."

,, Hah, hah, hah.

Uh... Thank you for doing this..."

,, No problem." he took her by the arm as they reached the door to the outside and another guard opened it and Raven got shoved carefully out into the light rain. It was chilly and the sky was grey, but she didn't mind. She was happy.

She quickly sat down in her corner, not wanting to get in a fight with anyone, and sat and watched Joker cartwheel around the enclosure, annoying every single one of the criminals he jolted by. But no one dared to do anything about it, they had all learned their lessons, one way or another. Joker cartwheeled another round, then stopped where Raven sat and dropped to the ground, dizzy from all the spinning.

,, Where did ya' sneak off to?" he asked. Raven shrugged.

,, Nowhere."

,, With who?"

,, No one."

,, You still haven't got the hang of small-talking."

,, You still haven't got the hang of leaving me alone."

,, Touchy."

,, Jerk." he looked at her.

,, My guess is that Jonny's back." Raven turned her head and looked back at him.

,, How did you..."

,, Actually I was just planning to keep on guessing until you got tired of me; you're no fun anymore."

,, Good. Then you can skip off and annoy someone else."

,, But I wanna annoy you...!" he sounded like a spoiled child who wanted the bright red fire truck on the top shelf of the toy store.

,, Did ya' talk about me?" he asked.

,, Me and Jonathan? Nope."

,, Aw, hasn't he missed me at all?"

,, I don't think he noticed you were gone. But he did mention something about the ringing in his ears had stopped."

,, He _did_ miss me!" Joker shouted and locked his arms around Raven's neck, rocking her back and forth in a great bear hug.

,, Wanna chip in for a Get Well Soon-card?"

,, M oking...!" Raven said and squirmed desperately in Joker's hug.

,, What?" he loosened his grip and Raven pushed him further away, even though his arms were still around her neck.

,, I'm choking! Don't you ever shower?!"

,, Uh..."

,, The fact that you hesitate just shows you don't do it often enough!" she tried to shove him further away.

,, Let go, Scarface, I can't breathe." he finally let her go and held up his arms, as if to demonstrate he wasn't hugging her to the public, and Raven crawled away from him.

,, ...Air...!" she gasped. Joker didn't hear her though. He looked at her, his head slightly tilted, his eyes looking at her right side where her white top had crept up during the hug. Raven froze solid when she saw where he was looking and she quickly pulled her top down. Joker grabbed her left arm and pulled her up close.

,, Who said I was done looking?" he said as his free hand moved up and pulled her top away from the scar. Raven tried to shove his hand away and kicked him in the ribs as she tried to pull back, but Joker shoved her to the ground and sat himself on top of her.

,, Get off me!" she shouted and tried to hit Joker, but he tacked both of her arms to the ground with one hand and stroked her scar fondly, like it was an old friend of his.

,, Now, this is _beautiful_! Where did ya' get that from?"

,, None of your fucking business, so let me go!" she hissed and tried to force her arms free.

,, Great craftsmanship, it's perfectly detailed all down to..." he leaned down closer and Raven wrung from the feeling of his rotten breath on the sensitive skin of her belly.

,,... the last..." he ran a finger across it and the two points from the taser.

,,... inch." he pulled away from her scar and leaned down to her face, his one hand still stroking her scar. Raven turned her face away and tried to hold her breath, he smelled disgusting.

,, Has Jonny seen it?" he asked into her ear, his muggy breath giving Raven a headache. She didn't know if her eyes flashed of anything, but she must have done something.

,, He has. No, no, let me guess:" his strokes grew gentler, softer and Raven closed her eyes as her insides became clammy and icy.

,, I bet he touched it like this..." Joker whispered, his humorous voice serious for once. In a crazed flash of a second she wondered if Joker ever had a girlfriend?

,, I bet he whispered it was as beautiful as the rest of you like this..." Raven's eyes hurt from being stapled shut and her whole body shook with disgust.

,, And I bet..." Joker began pulling back once again and Raven begged it was over and he would let her go. And it was insanely sinister how accurate he was...

,,... that he kissed it..." Raven's eyes shot open and she began kicking and wringing again.

,,... like this..." she somehow managed to pull her left hand free and slapped Joker so hard across the face she was convinced his scars embedded in the palm of her hand and she managed to kick him off and tried to get to her feet, but Joker's hand locked around her ankle and he tugged her back down. His arms wrapped around her legs and he pulled her back over the asphalt.

,, Ya' know, you look really sweet when you're fighting back like that." Joker grinned, his arms clamped around her legs and Raven trying angrily to pull free.

,, Funny, you still look like a total inbred bastard." Joker pulled her closer and his face got put close to hers again.

,, Now, that's a bad thing to call other people."

,, Go to Hell." Raven spat and forced her legs free of Joker's arms again and sat up, huddling down in her corner and waiting for the recess to be over. Joker sat and grinned at her.

,, Who gave you that scar?" he asked.

_It took Jonathan days to force a decent answer out of me, don't think you're winning that game! _

,, Charles fucking Manson."

,, He got you as well?"

,, Shut your face."

,, Never can do that again, honey dove." Joker sniggered and ran his tongue along his cheeks, making the scars bulge. Raven looked at the grey skies and shuddered in the cold rain. She sat like that for some minutes, looking at Gotham just out of reach.

,, So..." Joker huddled closer to her, but he didn't invade her space as before.

,,... should we chip in for that card for Jonny or...?"

*

It was to be another whole week before Raven saw Jonathan again. Her and Joker fought from time to time and she made sure to keep clear of the other inmates, even though Joker was the most dodgy to hang around. One of life's great mysteries.

And then just one day, at lunchtime, Raven sitting and poking her glue with her fork and Joker telling a story about why he used knives, for the sixth time

_Raven had stopped getting freaked out by the grim subject around the fourth one._

Jonathan walked along and sat down across from where they sat, his expression cool as always. He didn't greet them or anything, but his blue eyes flashed at Raven and he smiled cleverly before he began eating.

,, Jonny!" Joker shouted and jumped in his seat.

,, We've missed you _so _much!"

,, I am sure you have." Jonathan said and took a sip of his sour water.

,, Yeah, Raven's been a real wreck." Joker slapped Raven hard on the shoulder, but Raven ignored him.

,, Running around cryin' her eyes out and writing sad poetry on how much she misses you!" neither Raven nor Jonathan reacted, but under the table their white sneakers touched.

When the three of them got escorted down to the playroom, Jonathan's fingers stroked the back of Raven's hand. She didn't know if he did it on purpose, but it made her smile anyway. In the white room Joker sat down in the couch and began channel surfing, Raven grabbed one of the comfy chairs and slumped down in it and yawned, feeling a slight case of blues coming on, and Jonathan sat down at the table and began starring out at Gotham. The room felt cold and Raven felt like it somehow affected her mood. Sure, she was thrilled that Jonathan was back, but now when her waiting was over, other thoughts began circling. How long would it last? When would she be transferred to another cell, locked away for five years, not being able to have any sort of contact with Jonathan? Was he even interested in having any contact with her? She knew her thoughts were stupid, but you try keeping your chin up and a smile on your face in Arkham! If you're not Joker, that is.

Jonathan suddenly turned his head and looked at her, then he slowly got up and walked over to where she sat and sat down on the edge of the other chair, as if he didn't like the thought of being too comfortable.

,, Arachibutyrophobia." he said. Raven was about to say bless you, but she figured he hadn't sneezed and there'd be more to come.

,, The fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth." Raven looked at him, disbelieving, for about three seconds. Then she laughed, causing Jonathan to smile as well and Joker to look up from his soap.

,, You're kidding me, right?" he shook his head, still smiling slightly.

,, Not at all." Raven knew it wasn't polite to laugh about thing that some people might take deeply serious, but she just couldn't help it. Some things should just be laughed about.

,, How the... how..." she looked at him.

,, How?"

,, Well, the butter contains a certain oil which does, when in contact with saliva, not mix or react with it, but the roof of the mouth is relatively dry and then the mass clings to it. Annoying for the most of us, but there are some who panics at the very thought." Raven could have hugged him. He was making her happy on his own account, not wanting to gain anything.

,, Do you know any more?" she asked, excited like a child.

The next hour was spent with Jonathan sitting in the chair and telling Raven all about the more colourful side of phobias, ranging from genuphobia...

,, The fear of knees."

... and mycophobia...

,, Fear of mushrooms."

... toThaasophobia...

,, The fear of sitting down."

... and verbophobia...

,, Fear of words." Raven laughed each time he gave a new one and asked to them in fascination and some sort of delight. Maybe it was the knowledge of some people being generally scared of things like books

Bibliophobia

that made her smile each time, she did not know why, but it comforted her.

On their way back to their cells, Raven walked up beside Jonathan and touched the back of his hand with her fingers.

,, Jonathan?"

,, Mmn?"

,, Thank you."

*

After three additional days in Arkham, Raven and Jonathan communicating through silent words and small smiles, sitting together whenever they got a chance but not actually needing to talk, Raven was lying in her cell with her head resting on her hands and starring at the white ceiling. Her world had begun evolving around those small moments outside her cell, where she could be close to Jonathan, just being near enough to feel the warmth of his body and see his soft smile from time to time, his hand "accidentally" touching hers now and again. The rest of the time, her brain shut off and she meditated.

It was in one of those still moments, however, that her world was turned around. It was announced by knocking in her door.

,, Scarecrow." a keeper said.

,, You've got a visitor." Raven sat up in the bed.

,, What?" visitors weren't allowed in Arkham. The door opened and the guard stepped in and walked over to her, pulling out a pair of handcuffs and chaining her to the bed by her left wrist. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, but he turned around and left the room. But before Raven even got a chance to wonder what the hell was going on, she heard two men talking out in the hall, one of them being the guard who had just chained her down. The other was a voice, familiar, but not one she thought she knew.

,, I know that I'm not supposed to be left alone with her, but considering she isn't a mentally disarranged person, maybe we could be alone?" the unknown voice said and Raven heard the crisp sound of a paper bill switching hands.

,, Sure, sure. But, eh... When will we know when to get you?"

,, Come to the door in about half an hours time... Then you can either go away if we need more time or let me out if we're done. Deal?" another bill getting a new owner.

,, Of course." the voices came closer and closer with every heartbeat and finally, a man stepped into Raven's cell and the door swooped closed behind him.

Raven knew him, up to a certain point. Every person in Gotham knew at least one thing about him. She had seen his face so many times, on the TV or the cover of magazines, his playboy smile always standing out. He was sending her the same sort of smile right now, looking charming and friendly as only he could do.

Standing in front of Raven, in her cold damp cell in Arkham Asylum, was Bruce Wayne.

**Da-da-da-dum! :D **

**Once again (I'll never grow tired of saying it!) thank you to all my readers and reviewers!:D**


	21. Chapter 21

Goodbye...?

,, Hi." Bruce Wayne greeted and gave her that playboy grin again.

,, Uh..." Raven said. She knew that it was far from the most intelligent thing to say, but she could think of nothing else.

,, Bruce Wayne." Bruce Wayne said and walked over to her and held out his hand. Raven took it, watching herself from the outside with a surreal feeling, and shook it slightly. His hand was warm and strong, roughened from scars and work.

Did Gotham's golden son work? Or were they just scars from one of his more sophisticated sports, like rock climbing or sailing?

,, I know." Raven said. Everybody knew.

,, Sorry about that. Old habit." he smiled and let go of her hand again and stepped slightly back. He was wearing a snappy black suit with a white shirt and a red tie. He looked so misplaced in the dreary cell.

,, So... Your name's Raven, right?" she nodded.

,, Yeah."

,, You've been here for some time I've heard." another nod.

,, Until there's a cell cleared for me in some other prison."

,, And you're gonna stay there for, five years, was it?"

,, Keep out of my case." Raven wanted to lean back but the cuffs stopped her.

,, Sorry, I'm not meaning to pry...

What if I now told you there'd be a way for you to get out before time?"

,, What?" he pulled out some folded papers from his inner pocket and handed them to her.

,, I've been reading on your file and it doesn't seem to me like you were treated completely fair in court. So I've managed to pull a few strings and talked to my lawyers and, if you want to, we can get you out of here by tomorrow." Raven sat with her eyes flying from the papers in her unchained hand to Bruce Wayne, her mind racing to try and comprehend what he had just told her.

,, I've nowhere to go..." she said meekly after a few more confused seconds. Her landlord would kick her out before she got back in.

,, Page three." Raven put the clipped together papers down on her thighs and flipped the pages with her right hand, the left about as useful as toothpick against a lion.

Page three was the deed to a small house in the area around one of Gotham's parks. It was a little house, about just big enough for two persons, and it was signed all places but from where Raven's name was supposed to be.

,, It's a fairly big terrace house, it got a nice view to the park actually. From the top floor of course, but I figure you know that."

,, I can't afford it." Raven said.

,, It's already paid for." Raven looked up; no doubt he was the one who had paid.

,, Why? Why are you helping me, how did you even know I existed?"

,, I saw you on the news some weeks ago and you... well, I just didn't think it seemed fair that you should be locked up in Arkham, or any other place for that matter." Raven folded the papers with one hand and handed them to him.

,, Thanks, but I'm not really that enthusiastic to get a sugar daddy, so sorry to spoil your hope."

,, I'm not that old!" Bruce Wayne laughed.

,, And I don't want anything in return for helping you. It's just... When I see people being treated wrongly, I want to act. To help."

,, Thank you, your monthly charity dinners confirm that nicely."

,, I get the feeling you're suspicious."

,, You waltz in here and tell me I can go free for having killed a guy! You fucking offer me a house and you just expect me to jump up and down and clap my hands?!"

,, You're wondering where the catch is in all this?"

,, To put it mildly."

,, There isn't any." he handed her the papers again.

,, I just believe you were treated unfair. You were trying to defend yourself, I can't really see why that should give any judge a reason to lock you up."

,, Go to the graveyard on fifth street, about three tombs down, then you'll see why."

,, I'm sorry. But... I just don't think you deserve being locked up." Raven sat dumbstruck and looked at the papers, trying to read them and make it all make sense, but it was so strange, like a dream. She was free. No more prison, no more Arkham, no more running and hiding. Full release, she could go back to normal.

,, And uh... There should be some job offers in the back somewhere... I found some people who are more than willing to help out, you can start any time you like." he looked at her, sitting with the papers and shaking slightly.

,, Listen, I'll give you some time to think, all right? I could come back... next week?"

,, Tomorrow." Raven looked up.

,, If you're back tomorrow at lunch time, I can give you an answer." that playboy grin again.

,, Great. So..." he looked at his watch."

,, We've got some time left before the guard comes."

,, No we don't. Just bang panicky at the door and they will be here in seconds."

,, Really?"

,, I would do it myself, but I'm kinda tied up." she displayed her chained wrist and Bruce Wayne nodded. He walked back to the door and knocked on it with a great force. Raven hurriedly got up and shoved the papers down under her mattress as she heard feet out in the hall. The guard opened the door and walked in, looking at Raven with cautious disgust in his eyes. Bruce Wayne acted like he didn't see it.

,, So. I think I'll come back tomorrow, around... noon?" Raven nodded and Bruce Wayne gave her one last grin

,, Great." before leaving. The keeper quickly snapped Raven's cuffs off and ran after, almost forgetting to close the door after him. Raven pulled the papers back out and read them through, over and over and over. Then she stuffed them back under the mattress and huddled down to get some warmth, waiting for dinnertime.

*

The second she sat down at the table in the canteen, Jonathan looked at her with questioning blue eyes. Joker wasn't with them.

,, Where's smiley face?" she asked.

,, A therapy session running late."

,, Poor guy." Jonathan raised an eyebrow.

,, The therapist." they both nodded at the thought, then Jonathan looked at her again.

,, I saw Bruce Wayne walking down the hall...?" Raven nodded.

,, Yeah, he, uh, came to talk with me..."

,, About what?"

,, Uhm, he... He saw me on the news and decided I had been treated unfair in court, so he came to offer me a way out... A new job, new house, everything."

,, I trust he at least had the decency to keep his hands off you while offering you all that?"

,, You really think I'd let him go anywhere near me? Besides, he said that wasn't what he was after, he just generally wanted to help me." Jonathan's brows furrowed.

,, You don't believe him?"

,, No, I'm wondering what you are still during here." Raven nodded and looked at the table.

,, I said I'd think about it till tomorrow. I don't know if I should accept his offer or not..."

,, Why are you even doubting?" that clever clinical voice again.

,, Well... I just began thinking about you and I couldn't answer him."

,, Raven..." he took her chin gingerly in one hand and tried to make their eyes meet.

,,... Please don't turn into one of those women who only do something when they have gotten the green card from... Their friends." like some people couldn't whistle, Jonathan Crane couldn't always use the right words. He let go of her but Raven didn't turn her head away.

,, If you got a chance to get away from Arkham, take it. Go on and live your life."

,, But then... What about you?"

,, Simple: Forget me."

,, What?" Rave wanted to shout, but she settled for hissing it.

,, Don't go and be all Byronic and romantic: get out of Arkham, get a fresh start and meet someone you can spend your spare time with."

,, Aren't you romantic?" Joker giggled as he landed on the bench beside Jonathan.

,, I tell ya' my therapist is a real wreck. I think his parents forced him to go to Sunday school or something like that." Jonathan turned back to his food and didn't look up once. Raven did the same.

,, Oh, so you're giving me the chill, huh?" none of them reacted.

,, Well, it ain't gonna work and ya' know why?" he slung an arm around Jonathan's shoulders and patted his cheek a little too hard with his free hand.

,, Because Jonny Bunny here simply can't ignore a thing like this..." and with that he kicked Raven hard across the left leg and she cried out in surprise and pain, wondering if the old gash could have opened again. Next second Joker was on the floor and Jonathan was kneeling down beside him, holding the clown's collar in a tight grip with both his hands. Joker was sniggering like he always did, almost applauding Jonathan's sudden burst of anger.

,, That's it! Good old Scarecrow-style! And because his girlfriend maybe got a bruise...!" Jonathan wrenched Joker closer to his face and hissed in a cool, hating tone.

,, If you ever hurt her again, it'll be that last thing you do!"

,, Aw, so sweet. It makes my heart break...!" Raven could see how much Jonathan restrained himself and was amazed when he let go of Joker and stood back up, sitting down at the table and ignoring Raven's eyes on him.

,, But actually..." Joker's hands moved up and grabbed a hold of the counter and he pulled himself up, appearing like a very ugly Punch-puppet.

,,... what's another little scar to the gallery, eh?" he grinned at Raven.

,, Shut... up." she hissed as Joker managed to crawl all the way back up.

,, And since I don't have any of my knives with me, I don't think I'll be able to top the masterpiece you're hiding so brilliantly under that top you're wearing." Jonathan looked at her and Raven looked back, wanting him to understand she really had tried to fight Joker off, but he didn't look at her like that. More if he was wondering whether or nor she was all right.

,, When you're out, promise me one thing..." Jonathan leaned in over the table and murmured in his soft voice, Joker sitting beside him and listening along.

,,... keep away from people like Joker." she nodded.

,, I'll try."

,, Is your little lovebird leaving?" Joker almost cried. A passing keeper stopped to look at the three persons at the table, and they all hurriedly began eating, so no one would be force-fed. As soon as the guard walked on, Joker looked back up at Raven.

,, So, where are ya' going? Vacation?" but Raven didn't react. Under the table Jonathan's foot moved up and touched hers in a small gesture, Raven moving hers back and their sneakers bumping softly. Then the bell rung and the inmates got escorted back to their cells. Jonathan moved up beside Raven and his fingers wrapped around hers.

,, You're such a son of a bitch." she mumbled and squeezed his fingers.

,, In what way?"

,, You know I won't forget you, no matter what, so you just had to give me a bad karma injection."

,, I had to say good bye to you somehow."

,, Bastard."

,, Wench."

,, Jerk."

,, Feminist."

,, Idiot."

,, Weak and feeble female Caucasian."

,, Hypocritical wannabe doctor."

,, "Wannabe"? I don't recall you sharing even the basic facts about medicine?"

,, You know what I mean..."

,,... Not really..."

,, Oh, look at the two of you...! So sweet!" Joker giggled. Raven rolled her eyes but she didn't release Jonathan's hand, and he didn't try to move away.

,, Uhm, tomorrow... I know I'm not allowed to remember you but... Can I say goodbye to you?"

,, Sure thing." Joker wrapped an arm around her neck.

,, And I'll miss you too, hon'." a keeper pulled Joker away and Raven shot a cold glare at him.

,, Why not? I believe my calendar for tomorrow is pretty open."

,, Thanks." they reached the door to Raven's cell and Jonathan let go of her hand.

,, Sweet dreams." he murmured teasingly and Raven smiled when the door swooped shut and she sat down on her bed.

She sat and looked at the floor for some time, but when the light in the ceiling went out she kicked off her shoes and crawled down under the covers. The cell was cold, but Raven still managed to feel colder.

*

The next morning Jonathan and Raven didn't speak at "breakfast", they couldn't find anything to say. Joker was sitting and blabbering about everything between heaven and hell but neither of them listened.

When they got ushered outside in the cold morning air, Raven sat down in the corner alone and didn't really expect Jonathan to come along and sit down beside her. He did anyway.

Raven was sitting with her arms wrapped around her legs, looking out at Gotham. Jonathan tilted his head as he looked at her.

,, For someone who has just been reprieved from a five year sentence in one of Gotham's prisons, you do look awfully blue." Raven shrugged, not taking her eyes of Gotham once. The city she had been sitting and watching daily now seemed sinister and looming, standing and waiting for her to come back, so it could swallow her up and devour her whole again, body mind and soul.

,, I've been away from the "normal" Gotham so long I don't know if I will be able to remember how to work around in it."

,, You said you still don't know how to define normal... And you have nothing to be scared of." Raven nodded.

,, There's nothing to fear..." she said.

,,... But fear himself." Jonathan finished. He began to gaze out at the city like Raven did, something distant in his eyes making him look philosophical.

,, Jonathan?" he turned his head and looked at her.

,, If you don't want to kill people, then why do you scare them?" he sat and watched her for a short while, his mind opening and he himself diving into the deepest pits of his intellect.

,, Because that is what I do; I study peoples fears. I even learned to introduce people to knew fears, things or concepts they were not afraid of to start with."

,, But why?"

,, I find fear fascinating. The slightest push can drive a person to the edge, just out of something trivial like spiders or thunder or..."

,,... Peanutbutter." she gave him that soft hint of a smile. First now Jonathan saw she was actually shaking slightly.

,, Are you freezing?" she shook her head. Then she nodded. Jonathan moved closer to her, trying to give her body some warmth from his, and Raven leaned closer to him as well. She moved her arms down her sides and rested her palms on the asphalt and she closed her eyes. Her lips curled into a smile when Jonathan's left hand got placed beside her right and their little fingers linked. Jonathan's fingers moved over her hand and he lifted it slowly and turned it to look at the palm. Yet another scar, fading and slim where the knife had cut through her skin. Raven turned her head and looked at the hand, then at Jonathan, who sat with her hand in both of his.

,, It'll fade in time." she said and grinned at him. But she still felt cold on the inside, knowing this would be the last morning with Jonathan. He looked around the enclosure, to assure himself that no one was looking, then he quickly lifted her hand further and kissed the scar. Raven blushed slightly, which made her look so sad and happy at the same time.

,, Have you found out what your work is when you go back outside?" Jonathan asked casually and let go of her hand. Raven shrugged.

,, There are so many... I found this really cool one, working for one of the art museums... You know, sorting through old paintings and refurbish old books and art..."

,, You know how to do that?"

,, All the job offers are made to fit things I know... Yeah, it actually sounds great fun. I love art."

,, That explains your poster in your bedroom." she nodded.

,, But shouldn't you have some sort of college degree to do that?"

,, No, I've been offered to join anyway. Besides, I would have gotten my degree if it hadn't been for the circumstances..." Jonathan tilted his head.

,, Do spill."

,, I got kicked out when I kicked a teacher in the balls... I couldn't go back, the money I had I used to keep myself alive."

,, You kicked a teacher?"

,, The pervert made a pass at me...! What was I supposed to do?" Jonathan smiled at the mental image of an infuriated younger Raven, arguing against a school board for having kicked some teacher in the more sensitive parts.

,, What was your major?"

,, I was studying... Geez, I can hardly remember... Uhm, art, history, English literature and... drama, I think." somehow Jonathan felt sad on Raven's behalf, for not having managed to complete her studies.

,, And you were studying medicine and psychology, I bet." he grinned.

,, You read me like a book."

,, Funny..." Raven said.

,,... we hardly know anything about each other. And now we never will..."

,, I think that it would be best that way. The less you know about life this side of Arkham, the better."

,, But I want to know things about you...! Jonathan Crane: ex-pharmapsycologist from Arkham Asylum, doesn't like pancakes, makes fear toxin and scares the hell out of people, fascinated by nightmares and people who have something to hide, Queen fan, and that's all I know about you." Jonathan looked ridiculously surprised.

,, Okay, I don't know if you're a Queen fan, but you tend to hum Somebody To Love when you're concentrating on something." Jonathan's cheeks grew red with humiliation when Raven told him a little unknown fact about himself. Raven giggled.

,, Come on, I think it's sweet! But it's just pretty difficult seeing The Scarecrow as something scary when I always get a Queen soundtrack to follow in my mind." Jonathan buried his face in his hands and groaned; it was like being a teenager all over again! No wonder he didn't like talking about his past! Nothing good came of it.

They sat like that for a couple of minutes, before Joker decided to skip along.

,, Well, don't you two look _cute _together!" he sniggered and sat/stumbled down in front of them, crossing his legs difficultly and grinning at the two of them with his yellow teeth.

,, So, sad about your little loverbird leaving?" he asked Jonathan, who promptly ignored him. Getting no immediate reaction, Joker moved along to victim number 2.

,, And how about you? Think you can managed without your big hunk of straw filled eyecandy?" still no reaction. Joker scratched his hair and sighed. It was like talking to a pair of deaf and blind corpses. Then he got one of his ideas.

,, Hey Jonny, when is Scarecrow gonna come out and play again? It's so dull here without him." he moved slightly closer when none of them reacted.

,, Oh well, seems like we're gonna have to do this the hard way." he moved forward and slapped Raven hard across the face, causing her to lose her balance and tilt to the asphalt. Jonathan was about to fly at Joker, but the clown held up a finger.

,, Tut-tut, Jonny boy. Where's Scarycrow now? We're missing him outside here with the common folk. Oh, and Raven, of course." Raven sat herself up and placed a hand on her burning cheek, eyeing murder at Joker.

,, None of us have to listen to this, Joker. In here, you are no better than the rest of us, you have no power." Jonathan said coolly, looking at Raven out of the corner of his eye.

,, Like you ever had any! Admit it, _Jonny_, you're nothing without your squealer gas and that little playmate you keep locked away in that brain you carry around on. Hell, Blackbird here is more intimidating than you...!" he giggled again. Jonathan still didn't react.

,, Which is exactly why you're not doing anythin' because you know she'd take you down in a fight. But then... what if I were to do... say, something which would piss you as well as Scarycrow seriously off? Like... uh... this...!" quick as a lightning the Joker shot forward and grabbed Raven by the shoulders and pulled her into a fighting, unwilling lip lock. Raven screeched in disgust and began kicking and scratching Joker, but he hardly reacted. His scarred lips tasted as sour as his breath and Raven could feel her eyes watering. Then she felt a pair of strong hands on her shoulders, wrenching her from Joker's grasp and she managed to kick the clown in the ribs and got free, just in time to see Jonathan, no, not Jonathan, kicking Joker in the head and sending him sprawling to the ground, grabbing Scarface around the neck with two strong hands and trying to squeeze every last breath out of him. Joker somehow managed to laugh.

,, That's what I'm talking about.  
But I'm curious..." he choked.

,,... did ya' do this because she didn't want to, or are ya' just angry that I touched something that is yours, Scary?" Raven looked up and noticed a pair of fast approaching keepers and she grabbed Jonathan by the arm and tried to pull him away.

,, Jonathan, get off him...!" she tried and somehow managed to pull his one arm away as the guards came and forced him completely off Joker, who was gasping for air and laughing at Scarecrow.

,, Just... as I... said...! Jonny is _nothing_...! Without Scarecrow!" he laughed as the guards dragged him to the opposite corner of the fenced area.

Jonathan snapped his head and looked at Raven, his eyes burning so coldly she quickly let go of him again. Barely had she done that before he grabbed her by the neck and forced her up against the wall.

,, _Never __interrupt _**me **again!" he spat and Raven had to admit she was scared. This wasn't Jonathan; it was the thing that had tried to kill her before, the sadistic cold part of him.

_There is nothing to fear but fear himself... Fucking true._ She moved her hand up and backhanded him and he let go of her.

He blinked and jolted further back from where Raven sat, trying to calm himself down.

,, Are you... Okay?" she asked after some silent minutes. Jonathan shook his head slightly.

,, This is why you shouldn't be with me: we fight most of the time. If I were to lose control with you... Then what would happen?" Raven reached out to touch his arm, but Jonathan got up and turned his back to her.

,, I hope you will enjoy your new life in Gotham. You deserve a second chance." he said and walked away, making it clear Raven wasn't to follow.

She sat for the rest of the time outside in her little corner, rubbing her neck and wondering if Jonathan was right?

*

When Bruce Wayne came to meet her just after "lunch" and the recess in the playroom, Raven was sitting on the bed and starring at her toes. Jonathan hadn't uttered one word to her since morning and Joker had done nothing but talk.

When the door swooped open and a silent guard walked in and chained her to the bed once again, Raven straightened herself up and breathed deeply in like it was high school and she was in the middle of her exams. Then Bruce Wayne walked in, dressed in the same outfit as the day before, sending her that charming playboy smile again.

,, Hi. Sorry I took so long, I eh... Got caught I traffic." then he saw Raven's expression and shifted from charming and happy to slightly serious.

,, Is there something wrong?" he asked and walked over to her, looking her sincerely in the eyes.

Funny... Raven could have sworn she had seen those eyes before... To hell if she knew where, but she had seen them somewhere else than television and magazines.

,, Nah, bit of a slammer blues, but I'm fine." he smiled again.

,, Great. So... Have you decided?" she nodded and closed her eyes, her fingers clutching at the hospital sheets on her bed.

,, Yeah. I'd really like to accept your offer. I'd like to have my second chance." she looked at Bruce Wayne and smiled. He smiled back.

,, Super. Uhm, I'll..." he looked at her wrist.

,, I'll go call the guard." she couldn't help but smile when Bruce Wayne knocked on the door and a keeper came running and opened it. Bruce Wayne pulled him aside and handed him some documents, talking in a cool business voice and pointing to several sentences on different pages. The guard, confused as he might be, finally nodded and walked back over to Raven and freed her from the cuffs.

,, There seem to have happened some sort of mistake, miss Scarrow. Uhm, you're free to go now. Sorry for the mix-up." like that would ever make up for it.

Raven discreetly reached in under her mattress and pulled the papers she had been given yesterday out and hid them behind her back as she walked out into the cold corridor. When she passed Jonathan's cell, he looked at her with silent eyes, but then turned his head away. Joker was another matter.

,, So, that's why you're leaving...!" he sad when Raven walked past alongside Bruce Wayne, who gave Joker the coldest, most hateful glance one could ever imagine. It was so scornful one would almost imagine the two of them having met before.

,, Yeah." she answered simply and turned her head away from him.

,, Bumblebee." Joker walked up and leaned against his plastic door and grinned at her and Bruce Wayne.

,, Be careful out there; not everyone you meet are as friendly as me or Jonny." Raven nodded weakly and walked on.

After a changed of clothes and retrieving her bag from a stunned Rozetta, then discovering her money was missing and finding them in Rozetta's desk drawer

,, Just to keep them safe, pumpkin." Raven walked with Bruce Wayne to the courtyard, where a black Rolls Royce old school limousine waited. A white haired man stood by the car and waited patiently, looking friendly and official at the same time.

,, Is that a real Rolls?" Raven asked and looked at the car in slight fascination; she had never been much into cars, but her brother had loved them, and as the good big sister Raven was, she had tried to learn something about her brother's hobby.

,, It cost me a fortune, so it better turn out to be...!" Bruce Wayne said and Raven smiled. When they reached the car Bruce Wayne introduced the man as Alfred Pennyworth, butler and old friend. Alfred Pennyworth shook Raven's hand politely and introduced himself as butler and babysitter and opened the car door for Raven. She somehow felt more out of place in the fancy car, with black leather seats and champagne and whatnot, than she did in her cell at Arkham. Who would have known?

The car started and drove out of the grey courtyard, Raven sitting on the backseat and twisting her neck so she could see the ugly building one last time. She first noticed she was crying when Bruce Wayne handed her a tissue paper.

,, Glad it's over?" he asked as the car drove over the bridge and left Narrows and drove into Gotham. Raven nodded and wiped her eyes.

,, And... I know this will sound weird... But I actually made a friend or two in there... I'll miss them, I think."

,, Hopefully not the guy with the face... Joker, isn't that him?"

,, I don't think I'll miss Joker, no... But one of the keepers, Billy, he was actually a good friend, he helped me out a couple of times. And..." Jonathan's blue eyes popped up in her head.

,,...Well... I got a friend or two." she turned her head and looked at Bruce Wayne again.

,, Thank you for doing all this. I don't know what to say, I... Thank you."

,, This is going to sound so cheesy, but I'm happy to help." the car drove down along a long avenue, with juicy green trees on either side and red brick houses on the right hand and the park on the left. They stopped and Bruce Wayne nodded out of the window.

,, So... Welcome to your new house." Raven looked out and dropped her jaw. It was a perfect little terrace house with white windows and a green door in a white frame. It was three stories high, but it was narrow and all in all, the kind of house Raven had always wanted to live in.

,, I, uh, I've arranged with some people to move any furniture you want from your old apartment, and I think there should still be some in there you can have if you want to. You just need to..." he handed her a pen and the deed to the house. Raven looked at the pen in her hand. Then she looked at Bruce Wayne. Then at the small house. Then at the park. And then at Bruce Wayne again. And she smiled.

,, Where do I sign?"


	22. Chapter 22

A second chance.

_Three months later._

It was raining and it was strikingly cold. It was the kind of rain you couldn't shield yourself against, no matter what you did. The best advice was to stay indoors.

Raven wrung slightly when another gust of wind send a handful of icy raindrops down her back, her stupid coat not giving any warmth or protection. And of course, today of all fucking rainy days, the subway station closest to her house had been shut down due to repair, so she had been forced to walk home. The only streaks of warmth and light she had met on the grey, deserted streets were the orange and yellow glow from shop windows, crammed with carved out pumpkins and paper bats. Halloween was approaching.

Raven shuddered for the hundredth time and pulled the upright collar of her coat even higher up. Her scarf was soaked and she was freezing to the bone. No, not the bone, she was freezing to the core of her soul. She dug her gloved hands deeper down into her soaked pockets and sped up, wanting to get back in a hurry.

One of the good things about working where Raven did was, that you never really could take that much work with you home, so luckily her brown leather bag with the brass clasps was not too heavy. A few history books and a small yet reliable dictionary, things that could come in handy at work. Right now, she was working with about four of her colleagues (no matter how many times she said it, Raven still couldn't believe she had _colleagues_.) on some old books the museum had received some days ago. Not very rare, but still rare enough. It was mostly just replacing the backs and some of the loose papers, but it all had to be done with such a delicacy it could take weeks to finish them all. A work friend Raven had made, a woman named Alice who looked like she should be working in LA Ink, had commented on the stupidity of mending old books people would most likely never read again, since they were "too delicate for the public to handle". Raven had then pointed out that their useless work paid the bills and just because nobody used it anymore, it didn't mean it couldn't be saved.

_,,Like Gotham."_ Alice had agreed and they had both decided to handle the books with extreme care and then go get a drink after work. Raven actually liked Alice, it was strange making new friends like that.

Three old books about poisonous plants in the fifteenth and sixteenth century and one glass of water and two glasses of cheap white and red "Zinfandel" later, Raven was now trotting home and trying to concentrate on keeping herself going, so she could get some warmth. When she got home, she decided, she'd call for take out and get some warm clothes and then check what was on TV. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the magnificence of the glamorous single-life!

Since Arkham Raven had managed to have one one-night stand (don't lecture her on being cheap, because she isn't.) with a guy from the museum who had invited her out. He had actually been really sweet, with huge brown puppy eyes and mouse coloured hair, and Raven had decided _Why not? _They had actually had a really good evening and when he had walked her home, Raven had asked him if he wanted to come inside and so forth. When he afterwards asked about her scar, she had told him she had crashed on her bike as a teenager. Then he had told her he knew a good plastic surgeon and Raven hadn't uttered more words than absolutely necessary to him ever since.

_,, What a dickhead." _Alice had said when Raven told her about it the next day.

_,, What a jerk."_ Susan had said last time they had met and talked about their lives. Raven hadn't said anything to change their minds.

Another blast of freezing wind and Raven shook and turned the corner, seeing her little green door further down the way.

_Finally!_

She paced up and quickly reached her door, fumbling a bit with the key and almost falling into the small hall, kicking the mail aside in the corner for some other time. Newspapers and advertisements, nothing she couldn't live without. She tossed the key on the small table and dropped her bag beside it, peeling her layers of useless clothes off and leaving them on the floor.

_Now it would have been nice with a warm fire burning and dinner already made. _she thought and wrung her char hair for water. But having the small fireplace in the living room lit and dinner prepared would involve the help of either another person in the small household, or the help of pixies. Raven had neither.

Deciding to change to some dry clothes before doing anything else, Raven managed to catch sight of herself in the hallway mirror, hanging above the small table she had tossed her keys and bag on. Trying to look at least a tad professional at work, she had begun applying a fine layer of mascara to her dark lashes, making them longer and more spidery. Alice had commented on how they made her eyes stand out and said it looked good.

_Coming from a person who wears more make up than Marilyn Manson and Joker put together, I'll take that as a good sign. _but her mascara wasn't waterproof.

With her dark hair tousled and huge streaks of black smudge running down over her pale cheeks, Raven looked like a feminine edition of Alice Cooper. She groaned and walked up the stairs, switching on the light on them along the way.

In the small house there were nine rooms; on the ground floor, there was a small kitchen and a living room, and a tidy but unused dining room. Raven usually ate in the kitchen. On the next floor there was a bathroom and a spare room, a place where Raven hardly went. On the third floor was the master bedroom and a smaller bathroom and a long, hall-like room the former own must have used as a studio of some sorts, since she had found smears of paint and charcoal on the floor and some of the walls. Alice had said she could us it as a totally private girl's room, so Raven had filled it with cushions and lounge chairs the last owner hadn't bothered to take with him or her, then put up a few bookshelves and a table or two. It was a great place for her and Alice to hang out in. She usually sat in the living room with Susan; she wouldn't feel good about letting her pregnant friend walking up all those stairs, first trimester or not.

On top of it all, there was a small attic.

Raven walked up on the third floor and into her bedroom. Her mattress was lying on the floor with a mess of sheets and blankets and pillows up against one wall, and her closet was standing at the other wall. She opened it, even though it was never actually closed, since her clothes slowly but determined always began drooping from the shelves and fell to the floor. She pulled out her crimson cardigan and a grey t-shirt and a pair of jeans, then crawled out of the drenched sweater and the jeans she was wearing and pulled the dry clothes on. Then she walked out into the bathroom and splashed water in her face, washing away the traces of mascara smudge. She sighed and began walking downstairs again, still freezing to the soul.

She couldn't have a small fire in the fireplace, because she found it stupid to light it for one person. But the radiators ran on wooden pellets, so she could turn a pair of them on and then imagine sitting in front of the magical crackling orange fire. She picked up her drenched coat, gloves and scarf and carried them into the living room and hung them on the radiator and turned it on, then practically fell down into her couch. Actually, her couch was three mattresses, two on the floor and one placed against the wall, with a huge cream white sheet pulled over them and a pillow or three tossed on it. Raven's real couch was out in the kitchen, standing just under the window which gave a nice view of the street and the park on the other side. She liked lying in the couch and read while some music was playing on the radio.

She fumbled around a bit and pulled out a remote control from under one of the pillows and turned the TV on. It was standing in the corner of the room on a small table, which was a twin to the one Raven was using to keep the table lamp on the left side of her mattress couch... well, on the table, flanking her telephone. There was nothing on any of the channels, all the good shows always started later on, but she decided she could catch the news. GNC was practically sparkling with the news:

_And earlier today massive protests and debates were launched after the release of Jonathan Crane, also simply known as the term "Scarecrow" from Arkham medical institute. _The woman on the news said. Raven dropped the remote control, which smashed against the floor and the batteries rolled away in separate directions. She didn't care one bit.

_Many people say that it would be illegal to let him be released back into society and several groups even claim it would be dangerous. _The picture cut from the studio to the gates of Arkham, where a black car with darkened windows drove out, a storm of journalists taking photos of it. Raven could just imagine Jonathan sitting in there, glaring out at the world like a clever snake in the zoo where a kindergarten had just come to visit.

_A group of survivors from the so called Fear Night on Narrows, where a nightmare inducing toxin got spread out across the small island, protest strongly against the release of the Scarecrow. _Now the pictures cut to a group of people in a conference room, standing and looking solemn and pissed at the same time.

_,, I lost my wife and one of my two children that night..." _one man said, Raven not caring to know his name or some other useless information that rolled by on the bottom of the screen.

_,,... and my six year old daughter is in a wheelchair because she was attacked._

_I don't know about you, but with the knowledge of the monster who created that vapor walking freely among us, I won't be able to sleep at night!" _the group cheered and clapped.

_Then you can stay fucking awake. _Raven thought. She shot through the roof when her phone rung. It was an old black phone, the kind detectives used in old cop shows, with a disk you had to turn for each number to dial. Raven liked the sound of it, but today it made her heart race. She picked up the receiver, not taking her eyes of the screen, where more people now stood and protested against the release of Jonathan.

,, Yeah?"

,, Are you watching this?!" Susan's voice sounded in the other end.

,, What, Pinky and the Brain? Yeah, it's my favorite show, I've never missed an episode."

,, Raven, it's not funny. They're letting him out! Why the hell are they doing that?!"

,, Maybe they think he's gone back to... what's another word for normal?" Raven felt a headache coming on for trying to concentrate on what Susan said as well and following the news on TV. It was like watching it in stereo, since Susan's TV was turned up and could be heard over the phone.

The pictures on the screen cut back to the studio.

_And this is what Jonathan Crane had to say earlier today, at a small press meeting outside the city hall._

,, Holy fuck, he's in Gotham!" Susan said.

,, Shut it, I want to hear this!" Raven said back. The pictures now flipped to the Gotham city hall, where Jonathan was standing in the middle of a circle of journalists, dressed in his blue suit and with the coolest gaze Raven had ever seen in his eyes.

,, Wow!" it came from Susan.

_,, I cannot deny that the Scarecrow might some day resurface..." _Jonathan said, his voice thereafter almost drowning in the rush of photoflashes going of. Raven currently sat with the receiver to the phone in one hand and tried to piece together the remote control with her other one, wanting to turn the sound up.

_,,... But I believe with medical treatment and some therapy, I will some day be able to control it and live as a normal person in Gotham." _

_What is normal?_

,, Oh my God, Raven, he gorgeous!" Susan said.

,, You have a boyfriend. And would it be better if he was some ugly creep?"

,, No, but... Have you seen his eyes?!"

_You have no idea. _Raven hadn't told Susan about what had happened between her and Jonathan, even though she had wanted to.

_,, I won't beg your forgiveness, since I do not fell I deserve it."_ Jonathan's frosty blue eyes looked straight into the camera.

_,, But I would like to ask you for a chance." _

,, Raven?"

,, Yeah?" Raven had finally managed to force the batteries back in their place, but she felt the rest of the report wasn't of any interest to her.

,, Do you think he'll come after you?"

,, To do what?"

,, Well... You knocked him out... And you stole his mask... Don't you think he's angry?"

,, I think if they had any reason to believe he'd come to get me, they'd called me."

,, You gonna be all right?"

,, Sure." a crackling sounded in the phone.

,, Susan, I've got to go, there's someone else calling me." Raven said.

,, Okay. Promise me to call if anything happens, okay?"

,, Of course. Bye."

,, Bye." Susan hung up and another voice took her place.

,, Are you watching this?" Bruce Wayne asked.

,, People need to stop asking me that... Yeah." now and again Bruce would call her, to make sure she was all right. Raven was more leaning towards Bruce Wayne actually being lonely and wanting to talk to someone he could consider a friend. He was actually nice enough, if you dug in past the spoiled gold boy thing, and Raven found herself enjoying their conversations.

,, Listen, if you get worried or anything like that, I want you to call me. We don't know if he can be trusted yet." even though he couldn't see her, Raven nodded.

,, I promise."

,, Great. Sorry for calling you like this, but I gotta go, I'm in the middle of a business meeting..."

,, Sure. I'll call you later."

,, Bye." the phone clicked when Bruce hung up and Raven was left, sitting with the receiver in one hand and looking at it in silence.

What the hell to do now?

_Food. _she decided after a silent moment or two. But she really wasn't in the mood for calling for anything. She didn't know if she could talk just yet, her throat suddenly felt dry. Which meant she needed to go fridge hunting. She got up and walked out of the living room, through the small hall and then out into her small kitchen. Most of her long last goodies were cookies and a bag of muffins and some wood-like cereal. She had a sweet tooth, so sue her. But right now she felt in the mood for something more substantial, which there was nothing of. She slumped down her couch and buried her face into the worn fabric. It smelled like dust and sand. She slowly sat back up and ran a hand through her hair and looked out at the window; it had started as a great day, but now the whole city was greyer than Arkham's lunch menu. Then she got to her feet and walked back out in the hall, opening her bag and digging through it. She wanted to read a bit, she didn't know if she would be able to call anyone right now.

,, How have you been?" Raven dropped her bag to the floor when someone spoke, all her books and scraps of paper falling out and scattering around her feet.

,, I'd really wish you'd stop doing that." she said and had to lean against the table, looking down at her hands, not in the mirror on the wall, because that would give her an image of the person standing behind her.

,, Sorry."

,, I've been... okay considering the circumstances." Jonathan walked up close behind her and placed a hand over hers. She could feel him standing right behind her but she still didn't dare to look up in the mirror.

,, You've gained some weight." he placed his other hand on her hip and moved it gently up and down, tracing her body carefully, lovingly.

,, Insult, comment or compliment?" his hand on hers gently twined with her fingers.

,, All of it." she had managed to gain all the weight she had lost in Arkham, and it felt nice. More... Like her. The hand around her waist moved up and took her chin and tried to lift her head so she'd look in the mirror, but Raven didn't want to move.

,, What is it?" Jonathan asked.

,, I'm just... I don't want to look."

,, Why?"

,, Because..." what the hell was she going to see? Jonathan? Scarecrow?

,, You have nothing to be scared of."

,, I'm not scared!" she snapped back.

,, Then look." he challenged. Raven sighed and closed her eyes, feeling like her whole body had been carved in stone.

,, You know..." she said after a painful moment, opening her eyes slightly.

,,... when I was a kid I used to have these really awful nightmares. It got to the point where I was afraid to go to sleep, even though I only had like, one or two a month, but it was horrible enough. And then one night my grandmother... she came in to me and told me... The fear grows in the darkness, and if I ever felt there was a bogeyman around... I should..." she moved her free hand to the light switch.

,,... turn on the light." she snapped the switch down and the light in the hallway ceiling turned on. Then she looked up into the mirror; Jonathan was standing behind her, his arms carefully wrapped around her and the cool doctor glow in his eyes. He looked, if that even could be said, skinnier than usual. Raven turned herself around so they stood face to face and placed her hands on his cheeks, fingers tracing his cheekbones lovingly.

,, Hi..." she managed to utter. Jonathan's charming smile made her knees go soft and she was glad he was holding her, for else she'd surely have fallen to the floor.

,, Good to see you..." was all he said before Raven's arms locked around him and she hid her face in his shirt, never really wanting to let go. Jonathan smiled and hugged her back, holding her tenderly and sniffing in the scent of her damp hair. Then Raven slowly pulled back and looked at him, tilting her head slightly and closing her eyes as she moved closer and planted a soft kiss on his lips. Jonathan kissed back for a few seconds, then pulled away and looked at her though half-lidded eyes.

,, You better have a good reason for creeping around my house." Raven whispered and tried to block the part of her brain that Jonathan was triggering by letting his hands trace down over her body and roam through her hair.

,, I just wanted to make sure you'd be safe."

,, How long did you follow me?"

,, Since you left that bar and walked for the subway."

,, Stop stalking me." Jonathan pulled further back and pulled out a switchblade from his inner pocket, flicking it open and holding it up between the two of them. Raven froze solid to the ground but found herself unable to move, since Jonathan still had an arm wrapped around her.

,, Two rather charming men were following you at one point. One was carrying this with him and I decided it would be best to make sure no one else decided to follow you."

,, What happened to them?" Raven asked as Jonathan placed the knife on the table and wrapped his free arm around her as well.

,, Let's just say they'll wake up tomorrow with a truer meaning of what fear is."

,, You didn't! You were only released this day! You're so amazing, you..." he held a hand down on her mouth.

,, I did not gas them. But suddenly turning to face a walking and breathing scarecrow which knocks you out must be traumatic for some." Raven groaned.

,, You're hopeless...!" she knocked her forehead against his shoulder.

,, I think that's one of the reasons I like you." good she said that, otherwise Jonathan never would have remembered.

,, Raven..." he gently pulled her away and looked her in the eyes, crystal clear icy water mixing with burning whiskey.

,,... I still can't control myself, I don't know what happens if I ever let my temper get the better of me, I don't know that when..."

_When... Not "If". When... _

,,... Scarecrow decides to take over I will be able to control it... So..."

,, You're wondering if I'd even bother to be with damaged goods." Raven said and crossed her arms over her chest.

,, To put it that way, yes." Raven took a couple of deep breaths and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Then she took a step forward and kissed Jonathan, silently and deeply, their arms moving around each other gently. After some minute or two they pulled back and tried to restore their breathing, eyes still half-closed.

,, Is that a "yes"?" Jonathan asked. Raven grinned and nodded, breathlessly.

,, It's a maybe."

*

Ten minutes later they were lying on Raven's make-believe couch, Jonathan missing his jacket and tie and with the buttons at his cuffs undone. The second he had let go of Raven she had begun to inspect his suit critically, then began to dress him after her standards. She had tried to pull his shirt from his trousers, but he insisted on tucking it back in every chance he got.

Raven had her arms locked around Jonathan and her fingers moved absentmindedly through his hair, the small continuous movements relaxing them both. She could feel herself growing tired and, for the first time in her new house, she didn't bother to think if she'd locked the door and the windows. She knew that if someone should break in, against all reason for the neighborhood, she wouldn't have to fight off any intruders alone... She had never cared for a person to be with, for the sheer purpose of protection; with Jonathan, it was just a bonus.

Jonathan's hands moved slowly up and down her sides, distrait movements that felt like hypnosis to Raven. She had never felt like this with another person, but she could get used to it.

,, Jonathan?" she asked quietly.

,, Mnn?"

,, You seem... Thinner than last time we met... Is everything, uh, all right?" he nodded and fought to keep his eyes open, tiredness slowly taking over them both.

,, As you, I find it hard maintaining my weight in Arkham." he moved up and kissed Raven's cheek.

,, But it's nothing."

,, Come by one of these days and I'll make pancakes." she joked and Jonathan winced. That only made her laugh and kiss him back.

,, By the way, what now with the whole speech about forgetting you and moving on and all that shit?"

,, As I said, you shouldn't trust me when I am medicated." Raven laughed again and nestled further down beside him.

And they lay like that, hands stroking each other as if to confirm the other one was there, it wasn't just a dream or a memory. Raven could feel how hard it was getting to stay awake and her eyelids slid down now and again and it took greater and greater forced to keep them open. Judging from the glow in Jonathan's eyes, he was close to sleeping as well. She yawned and hugged him a little closer, Jonathan returning the favor softly.

_This is CRAZY!_ Raven's mind shouted.

_He's a murderer, a mental nutter, if he throws a temper tantrum Scarecrow could kill you: he's a freak!_

_That's another reason for why I like him. _Raven yawned again and could feel sleep getting closer and closer with every second. Jonathan smelled like peppermint and spring water and Raven wondered how she ever could have walked around without knowing there was someone smelling that good.

True, he could seriously injure her if he wouldn't be able to control Scarecrow and it was far from anyone's idea of a perfect relationship.

But Raven didn't care for perfect...

She closed her eyes and slowly drifted away into dreams with the knowledge of Jonathan being right next to her and his breathing like a constant lullaby.

... Life would do. More than plenty.

The End.

**I know! Long chapter *ducks when a burning arrow gets fired by angry reader* **

**Hope you all liked this story; I'm playing with the idea of a small one-shot or two, as I always do when I finish something, but you are more than welcome to post a comment. And a final review would be the cherry on the top... Mmnnn, come to think about it, I could do with a cherry...**

**Thank you to all my readers, reviewers and general support alike!!! Right now, I'm pasting a virtual hug to this chapter; If anyone hugs you the following year, I had something to do with it!:D**

**Cheerie bye! **

**For now (?) **


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